Missing notes of evidence cause delay in hearing of rape appeal

Notes of evidence from a High Court trial that appear to be missing have resulted in the delay of the hearing of an appeal filed by Michael Abrams against his child rape convictions and life sentences. Convicted of the crime by a jury in July 2017, Abrams was handed two life sentences by Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall.

The first count for which Abrams was found guilty occurred at sometime between January 1 and 19, 2016, and the second count was on January 19, 2016. During his trial, the court had heard the testimony of Abrams inserting his finger into the six-year-old girl’s vagina, and also sodomising her.
Through his lawyer Glenn Hanoman, Abrams subsequently filed an appeal against his conviction and sentence. In relation to the convictions, he is arguing that they are unsafe due to mistakes made by the Trial Judge, as well as her conduct during the proceedings.
“The main thrust of this appeal is what I perceive to be the unfairness of the Trial Judge, and how prejudicial she was to the appellant through this trial. There was a miscarriage of justice,” contended Hanoman during a hearing on Monday at the Appellate Court.
He further contends that the sentences are manifestly excessive.
The lawyer also pointed Acting Chancellor of the Judiciary, Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards, and Justices of Appeal Dawn Gregory and Rishi Persaud to the missing notes of evidence which he said prevented him from particularising his client’s grounds of appeal.
“I am personally alarmed. I am not sure whether this evidence was recorded and has now gone missing, or whether it was not recorded. I am not sure if the court was able to discover what is the reason for these pieces of evidence being missing,” Hanoman told the Justices.
According to him, in a criminal trial, the Trial Judge has a legal responsibility to make a full and accurate note of everything that happens. In this regard, he added, “It is very disturbing that very important pieces [of evidence] are missing, and I believe the pieces that are missing will hamper the appellant.”
Nevertheless, the lawyer said he hopes the missing notes of evidence would surface, as he believes they would give him “a lot of ammunition” to particularise the grounds of appeal and prove that his client did not benefit from a fair trial.
Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions, Diana Kaulesar-O’Brien, conceded that parts of the notes of evidence are missing. She disclosed that the “missing bits of evidence” regard the testimony of the complainant, and questions she was asked to determine if she was competent to give sworn testimony.
Kaulesar-O’Brien, in citing case laws and provisions of the Sexual Offences Act, contended that the missing questions are “really of no consequence” to the appeal, since the Judge’s summation is “quite detailed” of what the evidence in chief was of the complainant.
The Deputy DPP, therefore, submitted that the Court of Appeal can proceed with the hearing of the appeal by relying on the Judge’s summation. According to the State Counsel, “The evidence in chief, which is detailed in the summing up, could enable [Hanoman] to address the grounds of appeal.”
However, Cummings-Edwards noted that the court would not proceed further until the records are in order. “In the interest of justice, efforts must be made to have the missing pieces of evidence,” she said. In light of the circumstances, the matter was adjourned for 21 days to facilitate the finding of the missing records.
Depending on how successful this is, Chancellor Cummings-Edwards said, the Court would decide whether it would go on to entertain arguments.
Meanwhile, at the time of his conviction, Abrams, who described himself as a “devoted Catholic”, was admonished by Justice Morris-Ramlall for his wrongdoings. “You say are a devoted Catholic, I hope you pray to God and ask forgiveness,” she had told him in her sentencing remarks.
Despite the jury’s verdicts, Abrams maintained his innocence. “This situation makes me feel sad. I felt like the accused [Abrams] would try to hurt me,” the rape survivor had expressed in a victim impact statement.
The two life sentences will run concurrently. Abrams will be eligible for parole after severing 35 years in prison. (G1)