NASSAU, Bahamas (CMC) — A Bahamas High Court judge will on September 30 begin hearing the penalty phase of a 65-year-old deacon, who was found guilty on Monday of attempted incest.

The deacon, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been remanded into custody after the nine-member jury found him guilty of two counts of attempted incest.

Justice Renae McKay will begin hearing the penalty phase of the trial on September 30, during which the man exercised his constitutional right to remain silent.

The High Court was told that the incidents allegedly occurred in August and September 2019 and that the deacon attempted to have intercourse with his then-11-year-old granddaughter after she moved into his home with her mother, who is his daughter.

But while the deacon had exercised his constitutional right to remain silent during the trial, his attorney, Lessiah Rolle, challenged the evidence of his client’s accuser, suggesting that the girl had made up the allegations.