A Plantation Grove woman who was charged in February with three counts of trafficking a 16-year-old girl for labour, will hear the Chief Magistrate’s decision on July 29.
After Police Prosecutor, Inspector Neville Jeffers, ended his submissions, Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan ordered that the defendant Joyce Lawrence return to court on that date for her ruling in the matter.
Lawrence, 43, of 306 Track X, Plantation Grove, was read three charges which stated that between July 1, 2014 and December 12, 2014, at a nightclub, at Aishalton, South Rupununi, she engaged in trafficking in persons, whereby she recruited and harboured the girl by means of threats for the purpose of labour exploitation. The second allegation was that between December 12 and December 24, 2014, at Samatta Point, Grove, East Bank Demerara, Lawrence engaged in trafficking in persons, in that she recruited, transported and harboured the girl by means of threats for the purpose of labour exploitation. The third charge stated that between February 1 and February 8, 2015, at Samatta Point, Lawrence, being the employer of the girl, knowingly confiscated her identification card. At the time she was not required to plead to the charges.
Yesterday in court, Jeffers argued that Lawrence should be found guilty of all the charges made against her. The prosecutor said he believed there was sufficient evidence to convict her.
“The defendant admitted to the court that she was the holder of the virtual complainant’s passport as well as her cellular phone,” Jeffers told the court.
According to him, Lawrence had the child working for her between December 2014 and 2015. Jeffers said that the defendant suppressed the child under an allegation of stolen money, and told the child she had to work for her or she would have been placed in jail.
According to the prosecutor, Lawrence wanted the court to believe that the money was indeed stolen by the virtual complainant. Jeffers also told the court that the virtual complainant also got pregnant while she was working for Lawrence at Samatta Point.
He asked the court to not be swayed by the defendant’s testimony that the child wanted to work with her and that she was not forced into doing anything she did not want to do.
Jeffers ended his submissions by calling on the court to, apart from finding Lawrence guilty of the charges, have her compensate the child for labour and exploitation.
The chief magistrate subsequently adjourned the matter until the next date.
