Court of Appeal overturns rape conviction, orders retrial

The Court of Appeal on Friday overturned the conviction of Sheldon Lynch, who had been sentenced to life imprisonment for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl in Region One (Barima-Waini) on August 22, 2015.
The decision was made on the grounds that prejudicial evidence had been improperly admitted during his trial, significantly impacting the fairness of the proceedings. A retrial has been ordered for the next session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes, scheduled to begin next month.
Lynch, who is in his 50s, was convicted in July 2016 after a trial by judge and jury at the Demerara High Court. Following his conviction, he received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
It is alleged that Lynch engaged in sexual penetration with the child at his residence. Reports are that the girl’s mother entered and allegedly caught him in the act. The incident was reported to the Police, leading to Lynch’s arrest and the subsequent charge.

Unhappy with the trial’s outcome, Lynch, through his attorney Nigel Hughes, he filed an appeal challenging the conviction. Hughes argued that Lynch’s trial was unfair due to the admission of prejudicial evidence, specifically allegations of a prior sexual assault for which Lynch had not been charged. He contended that introducing such evidence improperly influenced the jury’s perception of Lynch’s character and undermined his right to a fair trial.
Additionally, Hughes argued that the trial judge’s references to previous convictions of a similar nature also constituted “bad character evidence”. He submitted that the judge’s instructions to the jury—that Lynch’s previous convictions should not affect the credibility of his testimony in the current case—were insufficient to mitigate the prejudice caused.
The appeal further argued that Lynch’s life sentence was excessive and disproportionate to the circumstances.
On Friday, the appellate panel, led by Chancellor of the Judiciary Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, upheld Hughes’ arguments. Justice Cummings-Edwards stated that the trial judge erred in allowing the jury to hear evidence regarding Lynch’s previous convictions and uncharged allegations of sexual misconduct.
“We believe that this evidence was prejudicial more than it was probative. Evidence of previous convictions, evidence of previous encounters, and evidence of the character of the appellant [Lynch] cannot be wished away by the trial judge giving the jury directions. Therefore, we believe that the trial judge erred in the circumstances,” Justice Cummings-Edwards remarked.
She concluded that this error compromised the integrity of the trial and rendered the conviction unsafe.
The panel, which also included Justices Dawn Gregory-Barnes and Rishi Persaud, unanimously ruled that the evidence was inadmissible and should not have been presented during the trial. As a result, Lynch’s appeal was allowed, his conviction overturned, and a retrial ordered.
The court stated that given its findings on the prejudicial evidence, it was unnecessary to rule on whether the life sentence imposed on Lynch was excessive.
Attorney Nigel Hughes sought bail for Lynch pending the retrial. However, the Court of Appeal directed that such an application be made before a judge in chamber. The retrial is expected to take place during the upcoming session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes, which begins next month.
Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions Lisa Cave appeared for the State.
This is not Lynch’s first experience with an overturned conviction. Last year, he was acquitted of two separate child rape charges during a retrial.