MONTEGO BAY, St James — A 13-year-old girl who spent three days with a man in another parish before the police intervened during a traffic stop, testified on Monday that the man she slept with gave her a morning after pill the next day.

Her remarks came while she was on the stand in St James Parish Court, being grilled by the prosecution.

The teenager’s mother is on trial for cruelty to a child contrary to Section 9 (1) of the Child Care and Protection Act. The woman, who is being represented by attorney-at-law Jermaine Campbell, appeared before Presiding Judge Natiesha Fairclough-Hylton.

The minor, who is the complainant in the case, was the first witness to take the stand, and was subjected to detailed interrogation by the prosecution.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.

She explained that she met this friend on social media through her ex-boyfriend, and that their first in-person meeting was in April 2023. Her mother was able to meet him for the first time at this point, she stated.

The prosecution then shifted its focus to the moment when the young girl recounted the encounter she had with the 19-year-old man at her mother’s workplace on December 23. According to her account, he arrived to pick her up, and her mother instructed him to take care of her. Furthermore, she stated that this was their second face-to-face meeting with this friend.

“How long were you going to Westmoreland for?” the prosecutor asked the minor.

“Until Monday [December 25],” the young girl replied.

“Who were you planning to stay with?” the prosecutor enquired.

The minor indicated that her plan was to stay with the 19-year-old.

The girl continued her testimony, stating that they went to the bus park and boarded a bus to Ferris, Westmoreland, where they stayed at the 19-year-old man’s house. She also stated that her mother contacted her on that day.

On December 24 she recalled how she and the 19-year-old ventured out to the river, and the next day, December 25, another man contacted her and picked her up from the 19-year-old’s house. She noted that the two men were not acquainted with each other.

She stated that she and the other man went to the river the same day, December 25, and her mother contacted her that day. She explained that night had fallen while they were at the river, and he took her to his home, where they engaged in sexual activity. Sex with a minor is illegal.

She further testified that she and the other man returned to the river on December 26, and later that day, while at his house, he gave her a ‘morning after’ pill (contraceptive), which she took.

She said she was returning to Montego Bay with the other man, and one of his friends, on that same day when they were stopped by the police who took them to the Savanna-la-Mar Police Station where all three were questioned.

According to her, a female officer then contacted her mother, who later arrived at the station, and the officer then accompanied her and her mother to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital.

In cross-examination Campbell sought to find out from the young girl if her mother was aware that she was meeting with another man.

“When you met with the other man, was your mother expecting you to return home?” Campbell enquired, to which the minor responded, “Yes.”

“Would you agree that the 19-year-old advised you not to link up with the other man?” Campbell again asked.

The girl replied, “Yes.”

“Am I correct to say that you decide to meet up with the other man on your own free will?” Campbell asked the girl once more.

She replied, “Yes.”

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.