Indecent assault case dismissed for want of prosecution

Eleven years after Julian Orville Ellis was charged for indecently assaulting a woman, he walked out of the High Court a free man.

Justice Elwood Watts dismissed the 2013 case against Ellis for want of prosecution on Thursday.

The State, represented by Senior State Counsel Kevin Forde, was unable to produce its witnesses, resulting in Justice Watts throwing out the matter.

Forde explained that the complainants who had been summoned to appear were not present at the start of the trial.

“The complainants in that matter were summoned. This was confirmed by the marshals; they never came to court. The case was stood down for a few hours to allow them to come. It was subsequently dismissed, and throughout the day, they never showed up,” the prosecutor explained.

Ellis, who had been charged with committing the offence on September 28, 2013 in Christ Church, had been granted $7 500 bail during the preliminary hearing at the magistrate’s court.

Defence counsel Lalu Hanuman lamented that even though his client had been freed, his reputation had already been damaged.

“In the meantime, my client has been having to sign in at Oistins Police Station every Wednesday; and obviously his reputation has been shot because he had this charge hanging over his head,” the attorney said.

“These matters ought to be expedited in the interest of both the virtual complainant as well as the defendant, so the virtual complainant can get justice if there is a crime committed, and so that the defendant can clear his or her name.”

Ellis’ mother Yvette O’Neil said she had been praying all along for her son, who was in his early 20s when he was charged.

“He was innocent. He cried many a night to see what was happening, but he kept his cool and his calm. I am thankful,” O’Neil told Barbados TODAY.

emmanueljoseph@barbadostoday.bb