Four Enmore men, including one who has a disability, were yesterday charged with having sex with a nine-year-old girl on several occasions over a seven month period.
Rajchand Sakichand, 44, a fisherman of Lot 112, Logwood; Carlos Munroe, 21, a porter of Logwood Squatting Area; Maywalall Somaroo, 48, a painter of 99 Logwood; and Shamraj Cyril, 25, of Logwood Squatting Area, who is disabled, were each charged separately with carnally knowing a girl under the age of 15. The men were arraigned at the Vigilance Magistrates’ Court, where Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus advised that they were not required to plead to the indictable charges. Bail applications by their lawyer, Michael Somersault, were refused.
Sakichand was previously sentenced to nine months imprisonment by the Magistrate and has an appeal pending. As a result, Isaacs-Marcus said that she was using this as grounds for recusing herself from presiding over Sakichand’s case.
He is due to appear on March 3 before the Chief Magistrate, for reassignment of the case,
while the others will return to court on March 17.
Tears flowed in the court compound yesterday as relatives and friends of the quartet expressed their shock at the allegations and their disappointment with the police investigations thus far. Several men had been implicated in the sexual molestation of the nine year old girl and her sisters, aged 8 and 7.
The matter was reported to the police and five males from Enmore were arrested between Monday night and Tuesday afternoon. One of the men was released on Thursday after he was not picked out during an identification parade. Charges were laid against the others on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
Following the court case, Cyril was placed in the inquiries section of the police station and with his head bowed he silently wept. He occasionally glanced at his relatives, who were standing outside.
A policeman sitting nearby was overheard telling him not to cry. “What he can do? Look he deh in a wheelchair” the man’s aunt said between tears.
The quartet left the Vigilance Police Station for the Georgetown Prisons around 3 pm. Cyril had to be lifted into
the prison van while another co-accused put his wheel chair into the waiting vehicle.