The trial of Sharlene Oxley, the Pattensen businesswoman who is accused of trafficking a young woman, commenced yesterday in the court room of Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan.
Oxley, 51, of 208 Pattensen, Greater Georgetown, was charged last month with recruiting, transporting, and harbouring a woman for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The accused had pled not guilty to the charge at her arraignment.
The trial began with its first witness who is the virtual complainant in the matter. She was led into her evidence in by Chief Police Prosecutor Neville Jeffers, and was thereafter cross-examined by Oxley’s attorney Dexter Todd.
The virtual complainant who was visibly shaken and in tears at times during her testimony, related to the court how she met Oxley and how she was forced into prostitution by the accused.
The witness told the court she was introduced to Oxley by a relative of the accused with whom she had shared a relationship. She said she later was asked by Oxley to accompany her on a trip to Cayenne, French Guiana. The virtual complainant (VC) said that she agreed to go on the trip to take care of one of the defendant’s children since it was from June 5 to June 25.
The young woman explained that once in Cayenne, she was left there with Oxley’s child for longer than the agreed upon time, since the accused had left for Guyana. She said that a little while after she returned to Cayenne, the accused took her to buy condoms and introduced her to some sex workers who soon began to take her out at nights to conduct “business.” The VC explained that when she made money on the streets of Cayenne she would have to pay the accused half of what she earned. She told the court that the reason why she gave the accused money was because Oxley told her “… If your aunt [Oxley] was working you would not have to help in assisting me.”
The VC, guided by the prosecutor, told the court that during her stay in Cayenne, she felt stifled and controlled by Oxley, who told her to become a prostitute. She said she did not want to do it but was afraid. She said when she had asked Oxley if she could leave and return to Guyana, the woman told her that since she did not have any legal documents, the French authorities would detain her and then deport her. She said she had her passport in her possession but later threw it out.
The VC said she was eventually let go by Oxley in August and she travelled back to Guyana, where she made a report to the Ministry of Social Protection, Trafficking in Persons Department and at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary.
The VC also related that she had told a relative of the accused that it was who had sent her on the streets to become a prostitute, which resulted in the accused slapping her.
During cross-examination by the defence, the VC admitted that she was an adult and was not tricked by Oxley into going to Cayenne to look after her daughter. She added that she had told the accused she wanted to return to Guyana before and after her agreed upon stay was over.
She also admitted when asked that she had a cell phone on which she could make calls to Guyana. Asked if Oxley held her hand and took her on the streets to conduct “business”, the VC said she went alone.
The hearing was then adjourned to October 17, when cross-examination will continue.
