Dennis Gabourel Guilty of Grievous Harm, Not Rape

Dennis Gabourel

Just before noon today, a jury of two women and seven men stepped into the deliberating room to decide the fate of businessman, Dennis Gabourel who back in September 2003, was accused of first raping a nurse, then attacking her on the following day. The alleged rape is said to have occurred at a popular lovers spot known as “Hangar”, where the nurse claims he raped her inside his van, while the grievous harm occurred at her home. This is Gabourel’s second trial for the offense of rape and grievous harm.  He was convicted back in 2007 for the rape but upon appeal, he was ordered a retrial.  In this trial, Gabourel is claiming the woman caused her own injuries while his defense for the alleged rape was that it was consensual sex. The trial began on Monday of this week with prosecutor, Crown Counsel Kileru Awich, calling four witnesses including the nurse and a police officer. The nurse relived her alleged nightmare of being raped, attacked and left to die.  She told the court, that on September eighteenth 2003, she met Gabourel outside the K.H.M.H. parking lot and she asked him for a ride home. But he diverted and instead drove his van to the hangar area where he raped her. After being raped, the woman said she ran out of the van to get away from him. But on the following day, after her children had left home for school, Gabourel returned and forced himself into her house.  She tried to get help, but she was knocked unconscious and when she woke up he was standing next to her.  She made a report nine days later.  In the trial, Gabourel was represented by Attorney Simeon Sampson.  He gave an unsworn testimony from the dock where he claimed that on the day of the alleged rape, he and the nurse were together and that they had consensual sex in his van. Gabourel admitted that he went to her house to speak with her, but she attacked him, slipped and caused her own injuries.  During the trial, evidence unfolded that Gabourel and the victim were in a previous relationship, but remained friends after it ended and at times, he would pick her up and take stuff for her. After deliberation, the jury concluded that Gabourel was guilty of grievous harm, but not rape.