Valencia SRP granted bail on rape charges

A special reserve policeman (SRP) from Valencia has been granted $125,000 surety bail charged with several counts of rape against a female minor.

Kenneth Hazel, of Plantation Road, faced Master Shabiki Cazabon in a virtual hearing on July 22. As conditions of the bail, the master ordered that he stay away from the girl, 16, and not have any communication with her.

Hazel, who works at the Valencia police post (Community-Oriented Policing Section), is a former national cricketer.

The charges alleged that he had sexual intercourse with the minor at least five times. A report was made earlier this month, and the police investigated.

Cpl Hazzard of the Child Protection Unit in the Eastern Division laid the charges.

Attorney Terry Boyer represented the accused policeman and Sgt Cortez prosecuted.

The case was adjourned to May 2025 for a sufficiency hearing. A master holds a sufficiency hearing to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to put an accused on trial for an indictable offence.

It is part of the Administration of Justice (Indictable Proceedings) Act, 2011, also known as AJIPAA, which President Christine Kangaloo proclaimed on December 12, 2023.

Previously, indictable cases were heard before a magistrate, who, after a preliminary inquiry (PI), would determine whether a prima-facie case had been made for an accused person to stand trial at the High Court.

A PI took years to complete, and the new legislation aims to address the court system's backlog.