Journalist Seeks High Court Intervention in Legal Fight

Details

police

Monday, 02 July 2012 02:30

By caribarena news

Antigua St John's - Attorney Ralph Francis believes the revocation of station bail granted to a senior journalist was a pre-meditated move by Chief Magistrate Joanne Walsh who has openly expressed her stance on issues related to sexual offenses against minors.

The journalist, who was arrested early June for allegedly sexually assaulting a 13-year-old girl, was granted station bail to the tune of $10,000 with surety.

Francis has moved to challenge the magistrate’s ruling through a writ of habeas corpus in the High Court.

He maintains that his client has been unlawfully detained and expects a judge would agree with him when the matter is heard on Tuesday.

On June 14, the Journalist was taken into police custody and questioned about the allegations leveled against him.

He was formally arrested and charged the following day and granted station bail because the magistrate presiding over District B (where the alleged incident occurred) was off island at the time. The District A magistrate was also unavailable.

He was set to appear before that magistrate on July 3.

“From the time the District A magistrate (Walsh) came back and heard about the matter, she had been sending all sorts of messages telling him (the accused) that she wanted to see him. The magistrate can't just send and say I want to see you, they have to summons the person to appear, so he did not go before the magistrate on Monday,” Francis explained.

Further, he noted that on Tuesday his client was informed that new charges against him had been filed and would be served against him.

Francis said he too was informed of the new charges and advised that he would summon his client to appear at the All Saints Magistrates Court to be served and appear before the magistrate who was on the bench at the time.

“Instead of taking him before the district magistrate who has jurisdiction of that matter, they said they had a warrant for his arrest and they carried him before the magistrate in District A who happens to be the Chief Magistrate,” Francis explained.

“Up until June 26 no charges had ever been filed. He goes before her (Magistrate Walsh) and she tells him that she is revoking the bail that was given to him.”

What was expected at that hearing was merely a substitution of charges but because no charges were ever actually filed there was nothing to substitute.

“I applied for bail and she tells me quite clearly that I know that in charges like those involving children, she does not grant bail. Therefore, it would seem to me that she never considered it or intended to consider it. So, what was the point of bringing him before her instead of allowing him to go before the magistrate for the district, except to lock him up,” Francis said.

Caribarena has learnt that the police had inadvertently proffered a charge against the accused under the Offenses Against the Person Act as opposed to an offense under the sexual Offense Act.

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