In early December we told you about the civil lawsuit that the Belize Central Prison was facing. A former inmate alleged that due to the prison authority's negligence, he was raped by another male inmate on 2 separate occasions in 2017.
Well, this morning in the Supreme Court, the judge presiding over the case, Justice Shona Griffith, delivered her judgment, and she found in favor of the victim. The judge's agreed that prison authorities failed to properly protect him from this sexual assault. She found that they were indeed negligent.
Since he's a rape victim, we cannot reveal the claimant's identity, but as we told you, he was 20 years old at the time when he suffered an unnatural crime twice. In his lawsuit, he said that he shared a cell with his alleged rapist. At around 1 a.m. on November 25th, 2017, he was awakened by someone choking him from behind. This person overpowered him, and he went unconscious shortly afterward. He later woke up, with pain all over, and that's when he realized that he had been raped. He said that he confronted his cell-mate, who threatened him with violence if he mentioned to anyone what happened.
The victim ignored those threats and reported the incident to an on-duty prison officer. But, he says, the officer treated his distress with complete disregard. During the time of the assault, he was in the lockdown area of the prison, and he couldn't complain to anyone else.
He claims no one came to his rescue, and 4 days later, the same assailant allegedly beat him unconscious and raped him a second time while he was sleeping. This second assault didn't go unnoticed, and this time, the prison guards were nearby to come to his aid. A doctor later certified that he was indeed raped, and his alleged assailant, 43 year old Kenroy Cooke was charged with 2 counts of an unnatural crime.
Well, from the claimant's perspective, the prison had a responsibility to protect him, a responsibility - which according to him - they failed to carry out. He claims that according to the prison rules, he qualified as an untried prisoner and so, he shouldn't have been placed in the same cell as the convict-turn-rapist.
Justice Griffith told the court in an oral judgment today that she accepts the account of the claimant. While she couldn't find fault with the prison for the first instance of rape, she found that the prison officer, acting as an agent for the prison authorities, was negligent when he failed to report the claimant's distress. Had he done so, the prison management could have taken the necessary precautions to separate the two prisoners, so that the claimant wouldn't be assaulted a second time.
The ruling is of great significance because as viewers are aware, there is the public perception that if a man ends up in prison, one of the first threats he faces is sexual assault by other prisoners. And, now, a court has ruled that the prison can be held liable for that type of assault.
Outside of court, we spoke with the attorney for the victim, with Anthony Sylvestre, wand here's how he put the decision into perspective:
Anthony Sylvestre - Attorney for the Claimant
"He was raped on two occasions, on the 25th of November, 2017, and on the 29th of November, 2017. We brought claims in negligence, which is is to say, our claim was based on the fact that the prisoner, the claimant, was placed in a cell at the time, with someone who he ought not to have been placed in the cell with, by virtue of the disparity in age, and the fact also that the claimant, in this case, was on remand. The unfortunate situation is that anyone could find themselves in prison."
"The trial judge determined it's not in situations where there's a breach of the prison rules, that that could necessarily have negligence fall on the prison authorities. But, as indicated, there are two specific instances that the case is based on. The incident occurred on the 25 of November, and then on the 29th of number. Having regard to what the claimant explained, that having been raped on the 25th, and having reported that to a prison officer, the court was very clear that the prison authorities then could not escape liability on the second incident. It was the duty of the prison officer. Having been told of the incident on the 25th, he ought to have communicated that to the prison authorities, and the necessary steps should have been taken to ensure the claimant was removed from the cell in which he was housed with the prisoner who had raped him. And so, the court found, based on the second incident, that a clear case of negligence arose, and as a result, the prison authority and the Government are jointly and severally liable."
Reporter
"Okay, now sir, tell us about the procedure that will be done to determine damages that your client deserves for his ordeal."
Anthony Sylvestre
"Well, we're hopeful that the Government may wish to venture into a just and reasonable settlement, and that the claimant would not have to go through this agonizing and terrifying experience, which he would be put through if we were to go to the second stage of the trial, which would be assessment of damages. What would happen at that stage is that he would have to explain the impact the incident has had on his life. As well, we would have to bring evidence in the form of other witnesses, who could speak to whatever changes there has been with respect to the way in which he has responded adversely and negatively to the incident."
Justice Griffith has ordered that both the government and the prison's management must pay the claimant's court costs. The next step is to determine just how much in damages the rape victim is entitled to. The judge has given his attorney, Anthony Sylvestre several weeks to file statements on the negative impact these assaults have had on him. We'll keep following, and we'll tell you how that part of the case goes.
Email
Print