Barbados Today

NASSAU – Dr Gerald Forbes told a Supreme Court that he and a woman who has alleged that he raped her were involved in an intimate sexual relationship and that she allegedly inserted abortion tablets into her vagina after becoming pregnant, possibly with his child.

Forbes, who is on trial for rape and indecently assaulting a 20-year-old woman, testified under oath that he and the virtual complainant drank rum, smoked some marijuana, and had sex at his home on February 3, 2015.

It is alleged that on February 3, 2015, the 46-year-old doctor rubbed the woman’s vagina and masturbated during an exam, and on March 2, it is alleged that he had sex with the woman without her consent while performing a medical abortion procedure at his clinic in the Pioneers Professional Plaza. Dr Forbes denies the charges. During his testimony, he claimed that he and the virtual complainant had sex on several occasions after their first sexual encounter, and had also gone out together drinking at bars.

According to Forbes, he met the woman on January 24, 2015 after a close friend referred her to him for employment at his Carico Medical Clinic in Freeport. She was an unemployed mother of a seven-month-old child at the time.

He instructed her to bring a resumé and any family members who lived with her to the clinic so he could go over a confidentiality clause and explain the importance of patient confidentiality, she was excited about coming to work at the clinic. However, he claimed that she was depressed over her lack of money, and sad that her boyfriend was unemployed.

“My heart went out to her because we were very close and we spent the first two weeks during her employment getting to know each other. We went drinking at bars in the daytime because business was slow,” he told the court.

“Would you spend time together outside of work hours?” asked his attorney Osman Johnson.

Dr Forbes replied that they did. On February 3, he claimed that he and the complainant went to Coral Road Bar where they had drinks. After leaving the bar, they got some marijuana and went back to his apartment and smoked it.

Dr Forbes said he had three Guinness drinks and she had four or five Steel Reserves.

Mr Johnson asked, “Did she say no or stop at anytime?

“No,” replied Dr Forbes.

Dr Forbes said he was in the middle of seeing a patient when the complainant inquired about $100 owed to her. He told her he owed her nothing.

He said he later sent an officer to drop the money off to her at home, but she was not there. An hour later, he said plain-clothed officers came to his clinic and picked him up. He was taken to Central Police Station and arrested for rape.

Dr Forbes got very emotional on the stand and said that he was unable to save the baby because he was locked up for three months and the judge called a 15-minute break. The trial resumes on Tuesday. Justice Estelle Gray Evans is presiding over the matter. Erica Kemp of the Attorney General’s Office is the prosecutor.