Elderly man remanded after conviction for rape of pensioner

A 71-year-old man was remanded to Dodds Prison after being convicted of rape.

Oliver Chesterfield Fields was taken into custody on Tuesday evening after a ninemember jury turned in a seven to two majority verdict in the No. 4A Supreme Court, after almost three hours of deliberation.

The resident of Edey Village, Christ Church was charged with having sexual intercourse with a woman without her consent, knowing that she did not consent or was reckless as to whether she consented, on September 28, 2020.

The elderly complainant told the court that when Fields, a longtime family friend, was at her home where he was tiling the shower, he pushed her onto the bathroom wall and demanded sex. She refused him but he eventually raped her on the bathroom floor. Her husband was out running errands at the time.

Several witnesses, including the complainant, her husband and her son, along with several police officers and a medical doctor, gave evidence.

Fields, who maintained his innocence throughout the trial, had told the court in unsworn testimony from the dock that while he and the complainant had been intimate on the day in question, it was consensual and instigated by her.

Senior State Counsel Joyann Catwell prosecuted the matter along with State Counsel Maya Kellman, while Fields was represented by defence attorneys Neville Reid and Kristin Vanderpool.

Madam Justice Wanda Blair ordered a presentence report and adjourned the matter until March 12, when sentencing submissions are expected to be heard.