Man’s Bail Extended After Pleading Not Guilty To Alleged Rape Of A 13 Year Old

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

By Alric Lindsay

A man appeared in the Grand Court on October 3, 2025, to face allegations of child rape. He pleaded not guilty. His trial is expected to commence in April 2026.

Background

Based on the brief details provided in court, it was alleged that on or about August 20, 2022, and on or about August 29, 2022, the man raped a 13-year-old.

Regarding the allegations, his attorney, Oliver Grimwood, noted that the court had made an order for disclosure to be served, and Crown Counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions undertook to provide the disclosure on the same day. However, this was not done for several weeks.

Grimwood added:

We’ve only been provided with a notice of additional disclosure which contains the ABE and… officers’ continuity statements. And some WhatsApps.

We don’t have a formal bundle listing with the witnesses.

I’m going to ask again for a full disclosure bundle to be provided.

When questioned by Justice Richards, Crown Counsel from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions noted that there was no disclosure bundle on the file and requested time to review the matter and provide disclosure.

Regarding the next steps, a case management hearing is scheduled for December 4, 2025, and a trial date is set for April 7, 2026. In the meantime, the man’s bail was extended.

Note to readers

Given the date of the allegations, the charges fall under section 127 of the Penal Code (2022 Revision). This states:

Rape

127. (1) A person who rapes another person commits an offence.

(2) A person commits rape if — (a) the person has unlawful sexual intercourse (whether vaginal or anal) with another person who at the time of intercourse did not consent to it; and (b) at the time the person knows that the other person does not consent to the intercourse or the person is reckless as to whether the other person consents to it.

(3) A person also commits rape if the person induces another person to have sexual intercourse with them by impersonating their spouse or civil partner.

(4) If, at a trial for a rape offence, the jury has to consider whether a person believed that the person was consenting to sexual intercourse, the presence or the absence of reasonable grounds for such belief is a matter to which the jury is to have regard in conjunction with any other relevant matters in considering whether the person so believed.

(5) In subsection (4) — “rape offence” means a rape or attempted rape, or aiding, abetting, counselling or procuring rape or attempted rape, or incitement to rape.

(6) For the purposes of this section, a person is deemed not to have consented to sexual intercourse if that person’s acquiescence is obtained — (a) by threat of force or use of force; (b) by means of threats or intimidation of any kind; (c) by fear of bodily harm; (d) by means of false representations as to the nature of the act; or, (e) in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband.

(7) On a trial for rape, the jury may find the accused guilty of — (a) sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of twelve years; (b) sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of sixteen years; (c) indecent assault on a person; (d) administering drugs to obtain or facilitate intercourse; or (e) common assault.

(8) The use in this Law of the word “man” without the addition of the word “boy” or vice versa shall not prevent the provision applying to any person to whom it would have applied if both words had been used and similarly with the words “woman” and “girl”.

Regarding the punishment for rape, section 128 of the Penal Code (2022 Revision) states: