With a jury unable to arrive at a verdict on the indictment levelled against him for the alleged rape of a 16-year-old girl, Sareshwar Lall, called ‘Andy,’ now faces a retrial.
After some three hours of deliberation late yesterday afternoon, the jury, through its foreman, informed Justice Brassington Reynolds that it was unable to arrive at a verdict, and was deadlocked, 7 to 5, in favour of guilty.
When asked by Justice Reynolds whether further directions were needed, the 12-member panel indicated that no consensus could be reached one way or the other.
In the circumstances, the judge declared a hung jury.
Justice Reynolds then discharged Lall, but not before informing him that he would have to face a retrial at some later date.
The allegation leveled against him was that he sexually penetrated the teen on Christmas Eve day of 2016 without her consent.
Lall was represented by defence attorney Rachael Backer.
The state’s case, meanwhile, was led by Prosecutor Seeta Bishundial, in association with Lisa Cave.
The trial proceedings were held in-camera at the Sexual Offences Court of the Georgetown High Court.
