Man accused of raping 15-year-old relative on $300K bail

A 54-year-old man, who has been charged for raping a 15-year-old family member was on Friday released on $300,000 bail when he made his court appearance at the Leonora Magistrate’s Court.
The accused appeared before Magistrate Zameena Ali-Seepaul where he was charged with Sexual Activity with a Child Family Member Contrary to Section 16 (3) (a) of the Sexual Offences Act Chapter 8:03.
According to the Police, the man was arrested in January 2021 for the crime which reportedly occurred in July 2020.
During his court appearance, the alleged rapist was not required to plead to the charge, however, he was placed on bail.
The matter was adjourned to October 12, 2021, for statements.
Statistics released by the Guyana Police Force (GPF) this month showed that there has been a 47.5 per cent increase in rape cases recorded this year so far, when compared to the same period last year.
At that time, the total number of rape cases for the year stood at 208 while for the same period last year, the number was just about 141. The statistics also revealed that 78 persons were charged with rape for this year – a 21.9 per cent increase from the corresponding period last year. (G11)