Former soldier accused of rape freed
A former Soldier of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), who was accused of raping a woman at Base Camp Stephenson, Timehri, East Bank Demerara (EBD) in 2017, was freed on Monday due to insufficient evidence.
The arraignment against Winston Haynes, also known as ‘Carlos,’ is that on January 27, 2017, he engaged in sexual penetration with the woman without her consent.
When the trial came up on Monday before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, Haynes’s lawyer, Ravindra Mohabir, made a no-case submission.
He advanced that there was insufficient evidence to prove the elements of the offence for which his client is charged.
Justice Morris-Ramlall agreed with the submission and directed the 12-member jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty. The former Soldier, who was out on $600,000 bail, was discharged.
Media reports are that the woman was taken to the GDF base in an army vehicle and then escorted to a room where she was asexually assaulted. After the allegations surfaced, a Board of Inquiry (BoI) decided to dismiss Haynes.
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