(Trinidad Newsday) A 33-year-old husband and his wife appeared yesterday in the San Fernando magistrates’ court on charges relating to rape of a 13-year-old girl. They were both remanded into custody.
The couple was arrested last Friday after investigations into allegations that the girl was raped in 2015 but the matter was not reported to the police.
Senior magistrate Jo-Anne Connor read a charge to the husband that between December 2016 and October 2016, he sexually penetrated the girl, who was under the age of 17.
Another charge was that between December 31, 2018 and September 29, he committed a similar act on the girl.
He was not called upon to plead to the charges, which were laid indictably by PC Shawn Mohammed of the Mon Repos Police Station.
Police then escorted the wife, who is 37, to the dock. Connor read to her the charge that between December 31, 2018, and September 29, she failed to report the commission of an offence, in circumstances in which she ought to have known that an adult associated with her was sexually abusing a child.
That charge was also laid indictably by PC Mohammed.
Police prosecutor Cleyon Seedan told Connor that the computers from which police track past criminal records of accused people had broken down on Monday. As a result, he said, a tracing could not be obtained and police had to object to bail.
Connor remanded the couple into custody to reappear today when she is expected to decide the issue of bail.
