A 45-year-old mechanic from California has been granted bail in the sum of $250,000, with a surety by Magistrate Alexander Prince, when he appeared at the Couva Magistrates’ Court, on 14th July, 2023.

The accused was arrested on 14th July, 2023 and was formally charged with five counts of Sexual Penetration of a Child and four counts of Sexual Touching of a Child.

The accused was also ordered to report to the St Margaret’s Police Station once per week and to stay 100 feet away from the 14-year-old victim. The man was arrested after officers of the Special Victims Department conducted an investigation into an incident, which was reported in January 2021. According to the report, between 2017 and 2020, a man allegedly frequently touched the victim and inserted his finger into her private parts.

Sometime in October 2020, the man allegedly held down the girl and allowed his 15-year-old nephew to have sexual intercourse with her.

The accused is due to appear in court on 11 August, 2023. The investigation was supervised by Superintendent Claire Guy- Alleyne, Ag/Asp Aroon, Ag/W/ Insp Jacob and Sgt Cedeno-Figaro.