A 28-year-old man of Dickson, Georgetown, currently serving prison time for burglary and wounding was on Monday freed on charges of rape, as well as assault, causing bodily harm.
Clydon ‘Savage’ Cato, also called ‘Neko’, was acquitted after a 9-member jury, comprised of 7 women and 2 men, found him not guilty on both charges.
Cato, who conducted his own defense, had been charged with the rape, and assault, causing bodily harm, of an adult woman on May 2, 2019.
Assistant Director of Public Prosecution Karim Nelson led the case for the Crown.
Cato’s acquittal came following a short trial that started at the Criminal Assizes on May 15.
The Crown’s case
According to the case for the Crown, the complainant knew Cato by the alias ‘Savage’. On May 2, 2019, around 9am the complainant went to the river to wash clothes which she did for various persons. She was already at a river stone washing when Cato came from the direction of a road above where she was. She asked him for some bleach. He left, returned with the bleach, handed it to her, then went away. Three minutes later, Cato returned to the river with a bucket of clothes. He asked the complainant for sex, including oral sex but the woman refused.
Cato, not accepting ‘No’ for an answer, threw her on the ground and wrestled with her. The complainant wrestled back and managed to get up from the ground. But Cato held the complainant’s right hand, dragged her all the while squeezing her neck with his left hand to prevent her from screaming.
He then slammed her on the ground. She wrestled with him and screamed for help. He continued to drag her until he reached a spot in the river where there were some tall bushes, sand, and a big stone. He removed his left hand from behind the complainant’s neck, and she tried to get away, but he pulled her back. He then pulled down her pants and panty to her feet, bent her over, performed cunnilingus and then had sex with her.
The complainant cried out for help, and people heard her cry and came to her assistance. She was advised to report the matter to the police.
Complainant’s evidence
The complainant in her evidence, told the Court that she went to the police station ‘bare buttocks’.
She recalled that when she first saw Cato at the river, they exchanged ‘good mornings’ and he gave her some bleach, but he later “passed his place”.
She said he ambushed and wrestled with her, removed her clothes and underwear, bent her over, performed cunnilingus and then had sex with her. She insisted that there was no arrangement to have sex; he forced himself on her.
According to the woman, Cato had what she described as ‘dominos’ on his penis. She said he bruised up her vagina, and she bled.
Urlon Fredericks told the Court he was passing in the area when he heard someone ‘bawling’ for rape, and saying ‘let me go’. He said when he checked he saw Cato behind a river stone holding the woman’s hand behind her back, and bending her over. He said Cato told him he gave the woman $20 and bleach. According to Frederick, it looked as though Cato was in the act of having sex with her when he met them at the river.
Medical checks
According to the evidence of Dr. Ferdessa Alvis who examined the complainant at 6:34pm on the day of the incident, there were multiple superficial abrasions to her right shoulder, back, and left knees, which in her opinion, were consistent with the patient being dragged or rubbed against a hard or rough surface.
Dr. Alvis said the hymen was absent and there was no active bleeding, laceration, or abrasion of the vagina.
But, she said, that does not necessarily mean there was no sex.
Dr. Kishron Richards who examined the accused on May 4, 2019, around 5pm said there were two small nodules on the foreskin of the penis which were artificial implants. The penile nodules seen, according to the doctor, are usually spherical or ovoid foreign objects like glass, plastic, or ivory, and are implanted with a view to enhancing female sexual pleasure. His examination also showed a 3cm bruise to the left side of Cato’s neck which, in his opinion, could have been caused by a hard object being rubbed or moved against the skin, including a fingernail.
Cato gives no evidence at trial
In an electronic interview conducted by the police, Cato insisted that he did not rape or assault the woman. In fact, he said he did not even have sex with her. He said they had an arrangement, and she asked him for bleach and a ‘little change’.
He admitted to removing her underwear and ‘cocking her up’ but according to him, “every minute she just looking around saying people coming”, and he told her to give him back his bleach.
Cato opted not to give evidence at the trial, saying that he would stick to what he said in the electronic interview, but he called his grandmother to testify on his behalf. The elderly woman told the Court that the complainant told her that Cato never had sex with her.
In his address to the jury, Cato said the Crown’s evidence was weak, and the medical evidence did not support the complainant’s story.
The matter was investigated by Constable 513 Juliette Pilgrim. Several other police officers gave evidence, including members of the Sexual Offences Unit (SOU).
However, after the jury returned the verdicts, Cato did not walk free, as he is currently serving sentences for wounding and burglary, stemming from two previous incidents. He had been sentenced to two years for wounding, and ten months for burglary, to run concurrently.
SOURCE : THE VINCENTIAN