Alleged rape victim gets nod to appeal over right to speedy trial

A woman who alleged that her constitutional rights were breached due to delays in prosecuting her alleged rapist has been granted leave to appeal her case before the Privy Council.

On December 12, Justices of Appeal Mark Mohammed, Maria Wilson, and James Aboud, granted the woman permission to pursue her challenge at the Privy Council. The judges agreed the case raised disputable issues suitable for consideration by TT’s apex court.

The State opposed the application, but the court sided with the submissions of the victim’s lead attorney, Lee Merry, SC.

The appeal follows a July ruling by the Appeal Court, which overturned a High Court decision that declared the State’s failure to expedite criminal cases involving child victims a violation of their right to protection under the law.

In that earlier ruling, Justice Avason Quinlan-Williams had ordered mechanisms to ensure the speedy resolution of sexual offence cases, along with compensation and psychological support for the victim.

The State successfully argued that such measures were outside the constitutional framework, as the 1976 Republican Constitution does not expressly guarantee a right to a speedy trial. Mohammed emphasised that such rights, while included in international conventions ratified by TT, had not been incorporated into domestic law.

“A court has to be alert to the possibility that it does not read into the Constitution rights which do not exist simply because of the court’s own moral persuasions,” Mohammed said. He cautioned against judicial overreach, describing it as "divination rather than interpretation."

The Appeal Court also ruled that transferring the rape trial to the Children’s Court, as ordered by Quinlan-Williams, was outside legislative intent and could violate the Family and Children Division Act. It further held that the constitutional court overstepped its jurisdiction by directing State resource allocation, breaching the doctrine of separation of powers.

The Privy Council will now consider the constitutional questions surrounding delays in prosecuting sexual offences and their impact on victims’ rights.

The woman, now 23, had filed the case after she was alleged attacked on March 31, 2017, when she was 16-years-old.

Seven months later, her alleged attacker, who lived near her, was arrested and charged with sexual penetration of a child.

She became pregnant after the rape and kept the child as her mother discouraged her from having an abortion.

She was diagnosed with several psychological illnesses including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and anxiety. She also attempted to self-harm several times.

Her lawyers filed the lawsuit as it took a little over five years for her attacker to be committed to stand trial after a preliminary inquiry.

She was also represented by Larry Boyer. Rishi Dass, SC, Coreen Findley and Sasha Sukhram represented the Office of the Attorney General.