A 23-year-old Princes Town man accused of raping a 12-year-old girl who is now five months pregnant was denied bail yesterday.Richard Mohammed, an electrician, stood before Senior Magistrate Debra Quintyne in the Princes Town First Court charged with sexually assaulting the child on two occasions.The first charge is that Mohammed raped the girl at his St Croix Road home between September 9 and 10, 2013.The other charge alleged that on a date unknown between July 1 and 31, 2013, at Canaan Drive, Toradale, Ste Madeleine he committed grievous sexual assault on her.
Mohammed was arrested at his home on Wednesday.The child's pregnancy was only discovered when she fell ill and her mother took her to the doctor, police said.The child then told her mother what had happened to her.Yesterday, Mohammed's attorney Russell Pina asked for bail. He said Mohammed had no previous convictions or pending matters and was not a flight risk.Pina said the accused was also willing to agree to any conditions imposed by the court.However, police prosecutor Sgt Krishna Bedassie objected to bail because the accused had not been traced.
Owing to the serious nature of the offences, he said it was important to know whether the accused had other matters in court.The magistrate asked about the victim's age, but the prosecutor said he did not have any details since the police complainant was not present, as she is in an advanced stage of pregnancy.Before deciding on bail, the magistrate said she needed pertinent information, including the victim's age, where she lives in relation to the accused and whether Mohammed had a criminal record."There is absolutely no information," she said.Mohammed was remanded into custody and told he could apply to a judge in chambers for bail.The case was adjourned to next Thursday.