Rape accused remains on remand

Claims by his attorney that his life was at risk at HMP Dodds was not enough to convince a Bridgetown Magistrate to grant bail to a 33-year-old rape accused.

When Jason Renaldo Ashton, of Medford Land, St Matthias, Christ Church appeared before Magistrate Kristie Cuffy-Sargeant today the prosecutor Station Sergeant Cameron Gibbons maintained the Crown’s objection to bail.

Ashton, a mechanic by trade, is accused of having sexual intercourse with a woman on August 25, 2018 without her consent.

He appeared in the District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court on September 11, last year and was remanded.

Today, Ashton’s attorney Mohia Ma’at in making an application for his release until the matter is heard in court, argued that his client had been on remand for the past six months and this was the first time he had been charged with such an offence.

“My client was beaten [and] almost lost his life. If you see him squinting it’s because they broke the bone under his eye.

“It may be that we will have him walking with a cane the next time. He is in danger. There is a present danger in the prison that he faces every day . . . . This injury could impact his vision . . . . I can understand the initial objections of the prosecution but he has no offences of this kind . . . . He is a fit candidate for bail,” Ma’at said.

However, in denying bail the magistrate stated that Ashton could get the medical attention he needs while at Dodds. 

Ashton, who said he has a doctor’s appointment on the April 21, will make his next court appearance on April 23.