by Linda Straker
Four days after a magistrate ordered he be sent to prison on the charges of rape and sexual assault, Police have confirmed that Denroy Charles was on Thursday released on bail, following an application to the court by his lawyer, Andre Thomas of Franco Chambers.
Nowgrenada.com was not provided with the terms and condition of his bail, but it was explained that an application for bail while awaiting a court hearing is not unusual. “Yes, the date for his court appearance was set for next Monday, but if circumstances have changed, the prosecution can bring it to the attention of the Court.”
Charles, who is from Conference and is known as “Cocoa Tea,” was scheduled to return to the Grenville Magistrate’s Court on 17 August 2015, to start preliminary investigations into the offences which were committed against a young woman in the same community.
In the meantime, Livingston Nelson has confirmed that a solidarity rally will be held on Thursday night at the Tivoli Cultural Centre at 7 pm, with the aim of having attendees sign a petition. “Come and sign the petition. Let us send a resounding No to the way an upright citizen freedom and reputation got tarnished by the abuse of judicial and power,” he said in the invitation which was sent via social media.
Since it became public that Charles, who is a primary school teacher and national cricketer, was charged with rape and sexual assault and sent to prison, many persons have used social media Facebook as a medium to label the complainant as a “liar” who “set up the accused.”
Reports are that he forced himself onto and into the young lady in his vehicle last Thursday night, in a lonely area in Conference, St Andrew. He was formally detained for questioning last Friday, and was officially charged on Saturday. Though an accused with these charges can get bail, the magistrate, after reviewing the case, denied bailed and as a result he was sent to the remand section of Her Majesty’s Prison at Richmond Hill.
A recent amendment to the Criminal Code provides for any person who is convicted of rape to be sentenced to prison for a maximum of 35 years. Grenada’s criminal assizes list continues to be dominated by sexual related offences, accounting for more than one-third of all the cases before the High Court for trial.
