Derek Achong
A man of south Trinidad has lost his appeal over being convicted for raping an elderly neighbour during a home invasion almost 16 years ago.
Delivering an oral judgment during a virtual hearing on Tuesday, Appellate Judges Prakash Moosai, Charmaine Pemberton and Gillian Lucky ruled that Allison Paul’s appeal was devoid of merit and affirmed his 22-year sentence.
In March 2018, Paul was convicted of burglary and rape over an incident on June 1, 2006.
The 68-year-old victim was asleep at her home when she awoke to a noise in the kitchen. She attempted to open her bedroom door and was attacked by a man, who began choking her.
She was forced into the bedroom and raped on the bed.
The victim claimed that she recognised the intruder was Paul, her next-door neighbour for almost a year, as after he raped her, he took her to the living room, put on the light, and asked for $450 to buy a wind-shield for his car.
After she told him she did not have any money, he allegedly threatened to kill her if she reported the incident and left.
Paul testified in his defence during his trial before former High Court Judge and current Appellate Judge Maria Wilson and denied any wrongdoing as he claimed that he was mistakenly identified by the victim.
The victim testified during the preliminary inquiry of the case but passed away before the eventual trial of the case.
In the appeal, Paul’s lawyer Daniel Khan claimed that Wilson should not have admitted the victim’s deposition from the inquiry after her death as her identification was unreliable.
Moosai, who delivered the judgment, rejected the submission as he noted that the victim would have been able to see Paul clearly as he put on the light in the living room before asking her for the money.
He also noted that the victim’s claims of seeing Paul in the community hundreds of times before the incident was corroborated by her daughter.
“We could not say her evidence was weak or unreliable. It was of reasonable quality,” he said.
Moosai noted that while Paul’s attorney was not present when the victim testified in the inquiry, he was still allowed to cross-examine her. He also pointed out Paul’s experienced trial attorney did not object to the admission of the deposition.
The appeal panel also rejected Paul’s claim that the judge should not have allowed bad character evidence in the form of a woman, who claimed to have been raped by Paul in an incident in 2001, which is yet to go on trial.
It ruled that the judge had the discretion to do so and gave the jury adequate guidance on how to consider the evidence.
“We do not find any flaws in the judge’s approach. She gave full and clear reasons why it should be admitted,” Moosai said.
Paul was also represented by Ula Nathai-Lutchman and Arissa Maharaj.
Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Nigel Pilgrim represented the State.
