By Alric Lindsay
A man appeared before Magistrate Hernandez in Summary Court today, October 15, 2024, to face allegations of indecent assault, sexual communication with a child, child pornography and indecent photographs of children. In this case, a 13-year-old is alleged to be involved.
During the mention of charges, Magistrate Hernandez drew attention to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), noting the length of time taken to address the matter.
She emphasized to the DPP lawyer that she was “outraged that a matter involving a minor has taken over a year to make a first appearance in Court.”
She added that the offences occurred between September and December 2023 and “We are not fulfilling our duties and responsibilities” by taking so long.
She reiterated:
I am outraged. It is unacceptable that this is how we treat matters involving our children and I want that to be clearly stated.
When questions were raised about the man’s immigration status, it was confirmed that he is married to a Caymanian and currently going through a divorce. There are no children from the current marriage.
A discussion then took place about possibly committing the matter to the Grand Court.
Following the discussion, Magistrate Hernandez set bail with the following conditions:
- The man’s passport will be retained
- The man is to have no contact with the child directly or indirectly
- The man is to have no contact or unsupervised contact with any child under the age of 16
The man is expected back in court on November 14.
Magistrate Hernandez
