ODPP throws out case involving drugging of tourist
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has ruled that no criminal proceedings can commence into an incident involving the alleged drugging of a tourist at an all-inclusive resort in Negril in July of this year, the police have reported.
Reports are that on July 5, a South African residing in the United States of America who was visiting the island with her employers, made a report to the Negril Police about an alleged incident involving another guest, also a visitor to the island.
The South African’s employers reportedly noticed marks on her neck and reported the matter to the police. The visitor then reported that she had a drink with a man and subsequently woke up and found herself sitting in a shower on the property.
Investigators from the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) conducted an investigation and administered all the requisite processes, the police reported. Investigators collected and submitted evidence for forensic analysis, which also comprised toxicology analysis.
Closed circuit television surveillance footage was also collected and analysed, the police said. Statements were collected by the investigators and the completed file was submitted to the ODPP for a ruling,” the police added.
The police said that the complainant in the matter did not outline in her statement that any assault on her person occurred and she did not make a formal report of any sexual assault, and further, the toxicology report did not reveal anything of note.
Subsequently, the ODPP ruled that the theory of the complainant being drugged is not sustainable. Hence, the ODPP has indicated that these factors combined would defeat any possible prosecutions, the police reported.