Accused child-molester pleads for protection

The man accused of molesting four boys, including a five-year-old, yesterday pleaded for protection in prison, claiming death threats have been issued against him. Yesterday Abdul Samad, also known as Roger Danglade and Abu, 50, of Springvale Highway, Claxton Bay threw himself on the mercy of Couva First Court Magistrate Ann Ryan after she refused him bail.

The taxi driver told Ryan he feared for his life. “I willingly gave up myself last week. Before that I was receiving death threats. The threats said that even if I go to Remand Yard they will get me. I am asking that the prisons help me with separation,” he pleaded.

Samad, who said his real name is Danglade, appeared before Magistrate Ryan in the First Court on seven charges of buggery and four charges of serious indecency committed on the boys aged five, 13, 14 and 16. Moments before he appeared in court, his alleged 16-year-old victim, from Carlsen Field, also appeared before Ryan, charged with buggering the five year-old boy and committing an act of serious indecency on the child between January 1 and March 26.

The charges were laid indictably and he was not called upon to plead. Yesterday when Samad appeared in court he held on to the prisoner’s dock for support and took out an asthma inhaler. He took two puffs on the inhaler while Ryan read the charges, which were laid against him by PC Mark Phillip after investigations led by Sgt Jerry Hosein.

The charges laid against Samad state that between January 1 and March 27 at Springvale Highway, Claxton Bay, he, being a male, committed an act of buggery on the five-year-old, the 13-year-old and the 14-year-old. He is also charged with committing an act of serious indecency on the boys during the same period. Samad is charged with buggering the 16-year-old and committing acts of serious indecency upon him between January 1 and December 31, 2011.

The charges were also laid indictably and he was not called upon to plead. Ryan asked about the victims and police prosecutor Sgt Peter Francis said the five-year-old has been placed in a home for children while the two teenagers are in custody.  He said the five-year-old’s mother is a drug addict.

 The youngsters appeared in court last week on similar charges and have been remanded to the Youth Training Centre. Magistrate Ryan, in response to Samad’s plea, said she made a note of his complaint of death threats and that he was asking about arrangements concerning his safety.

She explained that the information will be passed to the Commissioner of Police. The magistrate said she also added that Samad had a medical condition and assured him that arrangements would be made for treatment. The prosecutor, however, objected to bail, citing the nature of the charges. He also said the police needed time to  trace Samad’s police record.

Samad said he had no pending matters but admitted to having been  arrested  for sacrilege and breaking and entering.  Ryan advised Samad of his right to apply to a judge in chambers for bail. She transferred two of the matters to Chaguanas Magistrates’ Court for April 26. Samad will reappear in Couva on April 20.