NASSAU-A man jailed for raping a woman had his conviction overturned on appeal.
Josue Celestin denied that he raped the woman at his home on November 9, 2015.
At trial, Celestin claimed his accuser was a prostitute, who agreed to have sex for $50. Celestin said the woman accused him of rape because he did not pay her.
For her part, the accuser said that Celestin threatened her with a screwdriver and made her perform various sex acts.
Police found a screwdriver on Celestin’s dresser.
The jury rejected Celestin’s claim of consensual sex and convicted him on October 11, 2018.
However, Justice Gregory Hilton didn’t sentence him to 12 years in prison until March 28, 2019.
In a majority decision on June 10, the Court of Appeal said Celestin did not have a fair trial because the judge failed to give good character direction.
Sir Michael Barnett said the trial judge is obligated to ask if a good character direction is necessary whenever credibility is an issue.
Justice of Appeal Stella Crane-Scott agreed that the omission of the good character direction made the trial unfair.
However, Justice of Appeal Roy Jones disagreed. He said, “In my opinion, a good character direction to the jury would not have made a difference to the outcome of the case.”
The Court will hear arguments on whether they should be a retrial next week.
Kendra Kelly appeared for the prosecution and Fedner Dorsetal represented Celestin.
