Diego Martin man ordered: Stay away from girl, 14

A 22-year-old Diego Martin man was ordered to have no contact with a 14-year-old girl after appearing before a Port of Spain magistrate on Monday.

The accused, Rondell Griffith, appeared before the court charged with two counts of sexual penetration of a child and one count of sexual communication with a minor.

Griffith, a car wash employee, was also ordered to move out of his hometown and live in Tunapuna with a relative. In addition, he was told not to communicate with the girl via social media.

The order came as part of the conditions of his bail, which was set at $200,000 with a surety.

He will reappear in court on September 13.

Griffith was arrested and charged by WPC Pamphile of the Western Division Child Protection Unit (CPU) on August 14, after a report on August 2. The girl's mother told police that while scrolling through her daughter’s phone, she saw a number of messages between the two containing sexual content .

An investigation supervised by W/Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne W/Sgt Simmons and the Western Division Task Force led to the arrest of the suspect.