Cop’s rape charge overturned on appeal

In an astonishing turn of events, a police officer convicted of rape and sentenced to twelve years behind bars, has had that verdict overturned and his sentence set aside. According to court reports, acting on his own behalf Evan Reynolds appeared before the Justices of the Court of Appeal this morning and successfully persuaded the judges that he was unfairly tried … so successfully in fact, that no retrial has been ordered. Reynolds was able to show that several points of law were not followed during his trial and that the complainant’s evidence conflicted with other statements to the court. For his part, Director of Public Prosecutions Kirk Anderson objected to Reynolds’ point of a lack of corroborating evidence but admitted that the trial judge’s instructions to the jury were not adequate. Following both submissions, Justices Mottley, Dennison, and Sosa set the accused free, nullified his sentence, and ordered that no retrial be held. That decision differs sharply from a verdict presided over by Justice Adolph Lucas in March which found Reynolds guilty of two counts of rape. Lucas later ordered that he spend the next twelve years behind bars. Reynolds was initially arrested following a report by a twelve year old girl that he had had sex with her on two separate occasions. The case was prosecuted by Crown Counsel Audrey Matura while Simeon Sampson defended the accused. We understand tonight that following a guilty verdict, Reynolds was immediately relieved of duty. Should he want to return to the Police Department, he would have to appear before the Public Services Commission which would review his case file.

In other news from the Court of Appeal, former police officers Ewart Itza and Cyril Wade have applied for leave to appeal to the Privy Council against the Justices decision to uphold the verdicts handed down in the Supreme Court. Itza and Wade were tried and convicted in separate cases against them. Wade in connection with the severe beating of a prisoner in the Cayo district, while Itza was found guilty of, among other charges, physical assault and threat of death against at least two people from Dangriga.