Mother of female minor charged for perverting justice gets $10,000 bail for failing to appear in court

Mother of a female minor arrested and charged for perverting the course of justice, gets $10,000 bail for failing to appear in court on Tuesday 19th January 2016. A bench warrant had been issued for her arrest, by Justice Errol Thomas at the High Court of Justice on Tuesday last week, when information revealed in court that, the minor, who was allegedly sexually assaulted, left the island one day before the commencement of the trial. The mother appeared before magistrate Bernard Pacquette at the Roseau Magistrate Court on Monday 25th January 2016.
 
Police constable Jerry Maxwell, who is attached to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, had informed the court that he had served all witnesses in the matter, including the mother of the complainant, on Wednesday 13 January to appear in court on Tuesday 19 January. Maxwell told the court that he made inquiries from the Immigration Department about the complainant and was informed that she left the jurisdiction on “LIAT flight number 364 at about 3:03pm”. As part of her bail conditions, the mother is to surrender her travel documents and report twice a week at the Portsmouth Police Station. Her trial is set for 7th March 2016 at the Portsmouth Magistrate Court. The penalty for perverting the course of justice is fourteen (14) years imprisonment.