Alleged Rape Incident Described in No. 2A Supreme Court Trial: Details of Testimony and Denial

A complainant told the No. 2A Supreme Court on Thursday that when she was 15 years old, Kenrick Leroy Thomas pushed her down to the ground, covered her head with a cushion and raped her.

The now 22-year-old woman took the witness stand as the trial against the Crawford Road, Ellerton, St George resident got underway before a nine-member jury and Justice Elwood Watts.

Thomas has denied having sexual intercourse with a girl who had attained the age of 14 years but had not yet attained the age of 16 years on March 31, 2018. He was 45 at the time.

The complainant recounted that on the day in question, Thomas asked her to braid his hair. After she had finished, he requested a mirror. While speaking with her best friend on the phone, she began picking up hair from the floor. As she stood up, Thomas grabbed her and pulled her to the floor, she testified.

She recalled that she fell and hit her head and Thomas restrained her, trapping her hands and legs.

“I was screaming loudly for him to stop and trying to get way from under Kenrick and trying to get him off me for a long time. He then placed a cushion from the living room chair on my face, which made it hard for me to breathe, but I was still trying to scream for help and breathe,” the woman told the court.

She said that five minutes into the act, a neighbour shouted for her, causing Thomas “to jump off” of her.

“I get up and stood there for about a minute, and that is when Kenrick said to me that if I tell anyone, he would kill me,” the complainant said.

Recalling that she was in a significant amount of pain, the woman stated that as she walked to the door to answer her neighbour, Thomas was behind her, and that was when she saw him plug in the phone cord.

“I figured that he had pulled out the phone cord and had to plug it back in,” she stated, adding that no one else had been in the house at the time.

The complainant said she went to speak to the neighbour, and Thomas left the house seconds after. She called her best friend and told them what had happened. The matter was reported to the police, and officers took her and her mother to the doctor.

During cross-examination by defence lawyer Marlon Gordon—who represents the accused alongside attorney Jeremy Bowen—the woman denied that Thomas’ girlfriend had been present that day. She also refuted claims that she had previously made a similar allegation against another man.

Also giving evidence, general practitioner Dr Jasmine Crump told the court that when she examined the complainant in the early hours on the morning of April 1, 2018, her hymen was not intact.

The expert medical witness testified there were no tears, bruises or lacerations of the vagina, which could occur in cases of traumatic or forceful intercourse.

Earlier in the proceedings, Police Constable Roger Barrow entered a five-page photo album into evidence.

Senior State Counsel Kevin Forde is prosecuting the matter.

The trial continues on Friday.