Taxi driver walks free of rape charge after victim refuses to give evidence
Kalvin Murray, a taxi driver of Cane Grove, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara (ECD), was set free of a rape charge after the victim refused to give evidence.
Murray, 33, was on trial for rape of a child under the age of 16 in the Demerara High Court. The Prosecution alleged that Murray, on February 3, 2018, took the child to Mahaica Beach, where he inserted his fingers into her vagina.
When the matter was arraigned before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and a 12-member mixed jury, the complainant, who is now an adult, refused to give evidence against Murray.
Justice Morris-Ramlall proceeded to uphold a no-case submission and instructed the jurors to return a formal verdict of not guilty.
Murray had professed his innocence in the Magistrate Court during committal proceedings conducted by Magistrate Wanda Fortune in 2018. He continued to do so and pointed out that the child was being forced to make the allegations against him.
Prosecutors Rbina Christmas and Marisa Edwards presented the state's case, while Attorney-at-law Kevin Morgan represented Murray.
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