by staff writer
ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Oct 19, CMC – A former magistrate has been released on EC$10,000 (One EC dollar=US$0.37 cents) bail after he was charged Thursday with sexually assaulting a 24-year-old woman.
Thew attorney, who is now in private practice, will appear in court on November 27 for the start of preliminary investigations in the allegations against him.
The 68-year-old, who is accused of touching the female in different parts of her body without consent, faces the possibility of being sentenced to prison for 14 years if convicted.
According to the Criminal Code, a person commits the offence of sexual assault if he or she unlawfully penetrate the genital organs of another person with, any part of the body of another person or that person.
Sexual assault also occurs if the other person does not consent to the penetration and if he or she does not believe that the other person consents to such penetration or is reckless as to whether the other person consents or not.
Former president of the Grenada Bar Association, Ruggles Ferguson, said that as a member of the legal profession there is no automatic disbarment if the attorney is convicted.
“Any form of discipline after a conviction has to be under in accordance with the legal profession act and it must be noted that disbarment is the ultimate form of discipline, there are other actions that can be taken like suspension,” he said.
In Montserrat a prominent lawyer has been charged with counts of sexual related charges allegedly committed against a minor since September 2015. The matter has been held up with legal battles, reaching the Courts of Appeal.
