A mechanic who allegedly broke into a woman’s house and raped her was today charged and released on $250,000 bail.
Forty-six-year-old Odingo Emmanuel of Upper Mazaruni River appeared before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
He was not required to plead to the indictable charge which stated that on August 11, 2018 at Imbaimadai Landing, he engaged in sexual penetration with a woman without her consent.
The matter was heard in-camera and members of the public and the media were asked to exit the courtroom.
According to information, on the day in question, the woman was at a club with her friends and husband. It was reported that the accused was also partying at the club.
At around 02:00 hrs, the woman told her friends she was ready to leave the party. However, she was unable to find her husband. The accused then approached the woman and told her that her husband had left the party and had gone home. The woman left the party and made her way to her nearby home. On arrival home, she observed the door ajar and she went inside and headed to the bedroom.
Shorty after the woman heard a noise and she exited the room and the accused ran towards her and pushed her to the bedroom floor and raped her.
The woman, in defending herself, scratched the defendant about his face and upper body. The court heard that the woman’s husband then entered the room and pulled the defendant away from the woman.
However, Emmanuel was able to escape. A report was then made and an investigation was carried out. However, it was only recently police ranks in the area saw the defendant and arrested him.
The prosecutor objected to bail being granted to the defendant on the grounds of the prevalence of the offence and the penalty the charge attracts. He also highlighted the fact that the defendant was positively identified by the victim.
The magistrate, after listening to the facts, released Emmanuel on $250,000 bail.
He was instructed to make his next court appearance on June 25 at the Kamaang Magistrate’s Court.
