A father awaiting trial on three incest charges involving his 16-year-old daughter appeared in court yesterday on another charge of having sex with the same child, who is now pregnant.Princes Town Senior Magistrate Debra Quintyne denied the 51-year-old father of five bail as she questioned why the girl was allowed to stay in that environment."Society is failing our children. She ought to have been removed from that environment," the magistrate said.
Legal officer for the Southern Police Division Ramdath Phillip, who is prosecuting the matter, said that issue was the subject of a separate inquiry."She is placed back in the environment to suffer further abuse. That is heart-wrenching, that is a life destroyed," Quintyne said.The father, a mason, was arrested on Wednesday night and charged by WPC Woods.
The charge alleged that on a date unknown between September 1 and September 30, 2013, the father had sexual intercourse with a girl, 16 years of age, knowing her to be his blood relation. The offence allegedly took place at the father's Barrackpore home.He was not called upon to plead to the charge, which is strictly indictable.Objecting to bail, Phillip said the victim is the daughter of the accused and is 16 weeks pregnant.
Citing Section 6 (2) of the Bail Act, Phillip said the accused had five pending matters, three for incest and two other sexual offences, which are before the High Court.Phillip said the 16-year-old girl is also the victim in those matters.The father did not have an attorney. Asked why he should be granted bail, the father said, "I did not do the crime which they said I did."He told the magistrate that his daughter, whom he referred to as "the girl," lived with her mother, but on October 1 her mother put her out.
The father claimed that he, his son-in-law and three grandsons picked up his daughter after her mother told him to come for her. The mother was in court.In addition, the father argued that he only had one pending matter.After denying him bail, the magistrate asked the prosecutor to do his best to have the matter expedited. Phillip said the prosecution had eight witnesses and would be proceeding by way of paper committal.
Advising the father of his right to apply to a judge in chambers for bail, the magistrate remanded him into custody until February 5.