Nassau, BAHAMAS-A woman allegedly sexually assaulted by the son of a former governor general is still seeking justice eight years later.
Joseph Foulkes, son of Sir Arthur Foulkes, was jailed for 10 years in 2015 after a jury convicted him of the 2012 statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl.
The Court of Appeal ordered a retrial three years later after quashing his conviction.
However, the judge directed the jury to acquit Foulkes at the close of the prosecution’s case during his retrial in January.
Foulkes was free on $9,500 bail during his retrial.
Prosecutors have launched an appeal against the judge’s decision in hopes of trying Foulkes again.
However, the appeal hearing set for April 14 won’t proceed. The appellate court is closed until further notice due to the coronavirus crisis.
She lied about name of rapist
During both trials, the alleged victim, now 20, alleged that Foulkes molested her while visiting his home.
She recalled that Foulkes fondled her at his apartment off Village Road sometime in 2012.
Then, he allegedly made the teen undress before he violated her.
Foulkes allegedly threatened to kill the teen if she told anyone what he had done.
The girl kept the alleged assault secret. She eventually told her godmother that she had been raped,
However, she claimed that perpetrator was Jack, her father’s friend.
She eventually named Foulkes as her rapist after her father beat her, the court heard
Crown concedes first trial unfair
After spending three years in prison, Foulkes won a retrial.
The prosecution conceded that the trial judge permitted the jury to hear inadmissible evidence.
The judge allowed the prosecution to question Foulkes’ wife about a prior unproven claim of sexual misconduct.
The jury heard that the Department of Social Services removed their son while investigating claims that Foulkes molested him.
The Crown agreed that the initial trial judge should not have allowed prosecutors to pursue the prejudicial line of questioning.
