Man guilty of sexual crime on child at Smith Cove
Cayman Islands courts
(CNS): A judge found Valiyaveettil Josepeter (52) guilty of one charge of indecent assault and acquitted him on a second charge on Friday, following a judge-alone trial last month relating to an incident at Smith Cove in February involving two children, aged 7 and 10. Josepeter was accused of inappropriately touching the girls while they swam at Smith Cove but he claimed the touching was accidental. Justice Roger Chapple, who heard the case, found enough corroborating evidence to support the allegation of assault on the older child but not in the case of the younger girl.
Evidence given by a child of seven years old cannot be sworn, so in order to convict there must be some corroboration. In that case the child had said the defendant made brief contact over her swimsuit, and then had shouted to her mother from the water that she had been inappropriately touched. However, no one saw what happened.
The older child had said that Josepeter had held her in the water facing away from him and had made inappropriate contact both over and beneath her swimsuit. In that case multiple witnesses corroborated the second girl’s account of being in the water with the defendant, enabling the judge to convict him on that charge.
Although Josepeter denied the allegations when he was arrested, the police claimed that during the interview he had implied guilt when he asked them to give him a break, adding. “I won’t do it again.”
Following his conviction the crown asked for Josepeter, who is an Indian national in Cayman on a work permit, to be remanded in custody, but the judge extended his bail until his sentencing in January.
suppose it was a fish that brushed against her? I’ve swam in smith cove waters and the fish was constantly nibbling around and on the swimmers. Nonetheless, why would two children tell a lie on a man they did not know if it did not happen?
There were multiple witness both above on the rocks and below water using googles.
I say it again. Everyone one coming here needs to be properly vetted. Something is wrong with the system of screening immigrants and workers.
And how exactly do you suggest one go about finding criminals before they commit their crimes?
A crystal ball?
Palm readings?
Blood tests?
Interpreting astrological signs?
Good old fashioned Augury?
Animal Sacrifices?
Lets just eliminate privacy while we are at it, when will you be moving into your perforated glass house?
Or maybe your smart idea is to have a test for visitors and immigrants to weed out the criminals:
“Approximately how many kids, if any do you plan to fiddle while you are in the Cayman Islands?
A. 1-2 B. 3-4
C. 0 D. As many as I can”
I think everyone is missing a massive point here: the word of a 7 year old cannot be accepted unless witnessed or corroborated? On what planet can you not prosecute. If the child has clearly called foul? As a father, this scares me the most! If my child says someone has touched her inappropriately nothing can be done unless someone sees or witnesses it? WTH? How is that right?
I get you. I’m all for protecting the victim.
If I had bad intentions and my kid that didn’t know any better followed suite, I could tell her to go into the water next to a man I don’t like and scream out that she got inappropriately touched.
With witnesses, it can be confirmed.
Take 2 seconds to actually think about what you are calling for
Parents can influence their kids to do or say whatever they want
You think that we should just throw people in jail because of an accusation
I mean it doesn’t take a Law Professor to tell you how easily that system could be abused
Here’s an idea
Keep your eyes on your damn kids and stop letting them wander off like there aren’t people waiting for the chance to abuse them
Immigration screening …anyone think of this yet????? What an incompetent department, “Immigration”. Lets keep importing criminals, poverty and perverts!
1:00pm 18/12; We don’t need to bring in low life; we’ve got plenty of our own to keep the police busy until the next generation and then the next. A cycle that won’t end soon. Ask Northward for the figures if you doubt me.
6:36am, if they went to a prison that would make sense, but they are better off there than the hard working persons on the outside. If they are prisoners, treat them like prisoners, not like they are in a 5 star HOTEL. I can’t afford to have night snacks, they have the very gym room. Their exercise should been work.
WTF? No immediate prison with deportation to follow?
I really think that what government should do with all criminals, is to have a ship anchored in ocean somewhere and let them spend their prison sentence there . And if your get sea sick who cares . Then I think that people will think twice before they commit a crime . Northward is too fancy .
5 years in jail and no curry or roti.
I hope the DPP is going to ask for the Judge to issue a Deportation Order at the end of the hearing.
They almost never ask for deportation orders. They do not even consistently tell the difference between a Caymanian and a non Caymanian.
That is because the DDP are filled with expats
That department is all expats
When you have such nonsense as ‘ghost Caymanians’, ‘paper Caymanians’, ‘born Caymanians’ ‘Caymanians with status’ is it any wonder it no-one really knows who is who? Sort it out!
Jail time and deportation with permanent ban.
Issue more work permits, bring in more low life’s and make Cayman greater.
The government is responsible for the issuing of work permits, so tell me how many more do they need to reach the goal post of 100,000?
Just hope that some of those swollen brains will get a taste of what others are enduring. No chances of getting a job even though they have sacrificed to get higher education, and are being sidelined. No experience, or over qualified.
Don’t forget that each and every one of those work permits are by request of a Caymanian. We need to raise the minimum wage to a living wage, and then all Caymanians that are willing will be employed. Also need tighter controls on the work permit process — no more of the common practice of posting a job description that can only be matched by the work permit holder already in place.
Ever heard of fronting? So widespread that it is actually the new normal. Totally illegal, but never prosecuted. It means that your fundamental assumption that Caymanians are asking for all these permits is incorrect.
Semantics. Are you implying that fronting goes on without the Caymanian front person’s awareness? Absurd.
Still, at the root of each and every work permit is the complicity, awareness or request of a Caymanian. Feel better?
7:01 am. Could you state how many Law firms are Owned and operated by an indigenous Caymanian ?