A clerk attached to the High Court was yesterday placed on a $150,000 bail by Acting Chief Magistrate Melissa Robertson for allegedly forging divorce papers.

Dwayne Gentle, 27, of 239 Forshaw Street, Georgetown pleaded not guilty to a forgery charge which read that between May 1 and June 6 2008 in Georgetown, with intent to defraud, he forged a divorce absolute in favour of Paul and Joanne Marshall to show that they had divorced,  knowing same to be forged.

Representing the defendant, attorney-at-law Patrice Henry called the charge against his client a trumped up one since his client is a key person when it came to court orders. He then applied for reasonable bail stating that his client has been cooperating with the investigations from the inception.

The prosecution, however, objected to bail being granted. According to Inspector Stephen Telford, similar charges are likely to be brought against the defendant since there is an ongoing investigation and the defendant may flee the jurisdiction if granted bail.

Further, Telford argued that a serious view should be taken of the charge since the defendant is a person with the authority to certify judicial documents as true and correct.

Paul Marshall who resides in Trinidad, later made an application at the Canadian High Commission in Trinidad for a Canadian visa, Telford said. He produced the forged divorce papers and it was while his visa was being processed that it was discovered that the divorce document was false.

Telford said that such behaviour by a court clerk should not be condoned.

However, the defence called Telford’s statements speculation. According to Henry, a divorce petition was filed by the Marshalls and is ongoing. His client, he said, had nothing to do with producing the document.

Further, Henry stated that his client may be framed since it is only his name that appears on the document and there was no evidence to suggest that it was he who signed the document.

Gentle is to return to Court 10 on July 30.