A jury yesterday afternoon unanimously found Kelvin Lanferman not guilty of raping a woman.
After the jury’s verdict was announced, Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, who presided over the trial at the High Court in Georgetown, informed Lanferman that he was free to go.
The visibly relieved man ran into the arms of his crying girlfriend after he exited the prisoner’s dock.
Lanferman was 27-years-old when he is alleged to have raped the woman, 21, on October 22, 2014 at Ruby Backdam, East Bank Essequibo.
Lanferman had always maintained his innocence.
It was the state’s case that on the night in question, at 9.50 pm, the complainant was going to drop her son off at the babysitter, when Lanferman, whom she knew, offered to give her a drop.
She accepted and went into the back seat of the vehicle.
After arriving at the babysitter, where she spent about five minutes, the young woman saw that the accused was still parked outside and he offered her a drop again as he said that he was going in her direction. As a result, she got back into the vehicle’s back seat once again.
The court was told that after they drove off, the doors were locked and the accused allegedly went into Ruby Backdam area. During this time, the complainant had related that she was verbally abused by Lanferman, who told her that he had been “watching” her for some time.
The court heard that the man then stopped the vehicle and began choking the woman as he took his pants off. Thereafter, it was related that he unlocked the doors in a bid to get out of the car, while the woman tried to escape. But she was allegedly pursued by Lanferman, who dragged her back to his vehicle. The man, the complainant claimed, attempted to put her head in the car trunk, but she begged him not to harm her. Thereafter, she said he forced her to perform oral sex on him and then raped her.
It was also noted that after the offence occurred, the young woman got back into Lanferman’s car and travelled out of the backdam to the main road, where she exited the vehicle and then went to the police to make a report.
The trial was held in-camera.
The state’s case was led by prosecutor Lisa Cave, in association with Mandel Moore, while Lanferman was represented by attorney Melvin Duke.
