Crown grills 13-y-o in cruelty to child case
A 13-year-old girl who spent three days with a man in another parish before the police intervened during a traffic stop, was on Monday grilled by the prosecution.
The girl’s mother is on trial for cruelty to a child.
The juvenile testified that on December 23, 2023, she requested permission from her mother to attend Grand Market, an event in Savanna-la-Mar, Westmoreland, with a 19-year-old male friend.
The minor was the first witness to take the stand on Monday as the trial commenced with Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton presiding, answering questions posed by the prosecution.
The teen stated that she met the friend through her ex-boyfriend on social media and had their first face-to-face meeting in April. This was also the first time her mother had met him, she explained.
The minor also stated that on the day in question, December 23, she went to her mother’s workplace to wait for the 19-year-old male, who later picked her up.
She stated that they travelled to Westmoreland and that she stayed with him at his home in Ferris before meeting up with another man two days later. She recounted how this other man brought her to his home, where they engaged in sexual activity before he allegedly provided her with a ‘morning after’ pill (contraceptive) the next day.
In response to additional questions, she stated that she was returning to Montego Bay with the second man and one of his friends on December 27, when they were stopped by the police, who took them to the Savanna-la-Mar police station and contacted her mother, who later arrived at the station to pick her up.
No other witnesses were called to the stand, and the trial was set for continuation on Wednesday, May 22.
The accused woman’s bail was extended until that date.