A jury of five women and two men last Thursday took just 35 minutes to acquit a Kingston man in the Home Circuit Court of charges that he sexually assaulted his pregnant 14-year-old stepdaughter.

The 49-year-old man was charged with four counts of carnal abuse and one count of indecent assault stemming from allegations that he had had sex with the child three times in December 2005 and once in February 2006, and that on May 6, 2006 he fondled her vagina and breast.

The teen’s mother testified that on the night of May 6 she saw the accused – with whom she has other children – caressing the complainant’s private area. The woman told the court that when she confronted him, he told her that he was “just going to rub his penis head” on his stepdaughter’s “vagina mouth”.

The teen told the court that the first time the accused had sex with her, he burnt her bloody underwear and sheet on the bathroom floor, while allegedly telling her that “this is evidence”.

The teen said she never told anyone about the alleged abuse as her stepfather, whom she lived with since she was two years old, had allegedly threatened to kill the entire family.

But attorney Natasha Thompson said that the child’s mother had falsely accused her client to get back at him for playing a part in her conviction on child-stealing charges in 2003.

Thompson told jurors in her closing argument that the complainant was confused as to what happened and how

it happened.

Thompson said further that the child was coached into saying that the accused burnt her panty and sheet – a statement that was never made to the police before or during the preliminary hearing.

“.That’s bad acting,” Thompson said, concerning the child’s testimony.