Ex-cop serves full sentence on remand in abuse case

| 25/08/2021 | 48 Comments
Rayal Benson Forbes (from social media)

(CNS): A former police officer who has been on remand at HMP Northward for over a year in connection with a case of domestic abuse and perverting the course of justice will be released from jail immediately after he received a twelve month sentence on Wednesday. Rayal Benson Forbes, who worked for the RCIPS until he was convicted last November of two counts of assault ABH and attempting to pervert the course of justice, had tried to prevent his former partner from reporting his violent assaults against her in April and May of 2019.

But when she did, he threatened her and forced her to withdraw her statements. He also strung out the case by trying to withdraw his guilty pleas and has ended up serving more time in jail as a result.

The victim, who is originally from Honduras, left the Cayman Islands in 2020 and once Forbes no longer posed a threat to her, she recommitted to her original statements. The authorities had also continued to prosecute the case in any event since the woman had reported the violence against her by Forbes to a friend who had been staying with the couple.

Phones seized from Forbes also showed the threats he made against the woman in his efforts to prevent her from reporting the violence. He had been remanded last summer when it became apparent that he was intimidating both the victim and the witness she had told about the violence.

During the first of these violent incidents Forbes had slapped and punched his girlfriend in the face and head, causing her to black out, and had refused to take her to the hospital. On the second he acted in a similar fashion, punching her in the face. The violence was fuelled by his misguided belief that she was being unfaithful.

In the wake of both attacks he had compounded the criminality by threatening the woman with more violence to stop her from making a report because he feared that he would lose his job as a police officer.

Although Forbes pleaded guilty to the charges last year, earlier this year he attempted to withdraw those guilty pleas but his application was unsuccessful. As a result, the case proceeded to a sentencing hearing this summer and the judge presiding over the case, Justice Roger Chapple, delivered his decision today.

Justice Chapple said the offences in this case represented “an unpleasant thread” and revealed Forbes’ “controlling, coercive and domineering behaviour”. He noted the serious nature of the violence and Forbes’ attempts to undermine justice, made by worse by the fact he was a police officer.

While the case has dragged on for some time, the judge pointed out that this was largely due to the defendant’s own behaviour. Forbes had dragged out proceedings when he pressured the victim with threats and managed to get her to withdraw her complaint. Later, when she went back to the police and he was forced to come clean, he still sought to withdraw those admissions.

However, Forbes’ actions backfired. They have led to the former cop serving more time on remand than his actual sentence. If he had not attempted to pervert the course of justice and interfere with the witnesses, he would likely have remained on bail. Then when sentenced he would have received full credit for what would have been a much lesser sentence and would have been able to apply for early release.

Instead, the former cop, who was given a 15 month sentence, reduced to twelve for his guilty plea, has already served more than one year and is expected to be released today.


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Category: Courts, Crime

Comments (48)

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  1. Anonymous says:

    Well I hope this served him as a lesson because no woman should be treated that way, that poor girl didn’t deserve what he did. She was young and pretty I met her and saw her once with a red eye.

  2. Anonymous says:

    sad for vicky but he wont touch you again mamacita

  3. BLVCKLISTED says:

    Poor guy. Must be hard keeping all of those aggressive thoughts in that big ass head all the time.

    • Anonymous says:

      LOLL I never had a laugh like this in a while. I read and comment on this article couple of times well and never realized how massive his head is!

  4. Anonymous says:

    Chh wow damn, I remember him taking down a statement from me in 2019 and he never did came off as a Ike Turner to me loll. We really do got some monsters on this island.

  5. Anonymous says:

    I am amazed at the Caymanians who scream “deport him/her” every time one of their own born and raised sons/daughters of the soil are exposed for being criminals. Do you all really think every criminal here is an expat? Every country has their own rapists, murderers, child molesters, perverts, thieves, jinals and white collar crooks. Cayman is not exempt AND…..IT BE YOUR OWN! Deport his ass back to East End.

    • Anonymous says:

      CNS I think it would be a great service to the entire community for you to do an FOI to the courts to see a roster of those who are, historically, processed through the courts for commission of criminal acts and whether or not they are expats or Caymanians. Would be a fact/evidence based approach to giving a clear picture.

      CNS: Anyone can make an FOI request and you can do so anonymously via email. The community thanks you for your service.

      • Anonymous says:

        I can tell you this much, I was up at Northward Prison on Saturday visiting a family member in there (Caymanian born and bread). They had a family fun day for prisoners in the F wing. I looked around and said hi to quite a few of my classmates from high school who are very much Caymanian, even some in there for murder. I’m not even looking at the ratio of Caymanian verses expat criminals but the fact Cayman does have its own criminals.

      • Anonymous says:

        The FOI would be irrelevant. No formal checks are made, and non Caymanians are frequently treated as Caymanian.

    • Anonymous says:

      Here we go again. Please explain how do you determine from an anonymous CNS comment that the poster was Caymanian? Could it not have been a troll soliciting the exact same reaction you have provided?

  6. Anonymous says:

    It is ridiculous that it takes that long to bring a case to court! Court system MUST do better!

    On another point, women take note of his name and face and avoid this loser like the plague!

  7. Anonymous says:

    We don’t want him back East End. He can move to Owen Island.

  8. Anonymous says:

    Will he be back in RCIP and if so where is the trust and can he function properly

  9. Anonymous says:

    What ever happened to the case of the police officer holding his girlfriend/wife at gun point? I seem to remember she withdrawing her complaint, was the case still prosecuted?

  10. ETH says:

    For those asking where to deport him to, deport him where his Mama and/or Papa came from; and then keep going down the line!

  11. ETH says:

    There is a very fine line between a police officer and a thug. No surprise here.

    • Anonymous says:

      Finally, Justice served

      • Say it like it is. says:

        8.09pm I disagree. This wretched man beat his wife unconscious, then beat her again, forced her to withdraw her complaint, intimidated witnesses, and had the nerve to try and withdraw his guilty submissions.All this while he was a POLICEMAN!. He should have received 2 years at least.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Cops beat their women. Facts.

    • Anonymous says:

      Not all but unfortunately it’s a statistic like pedo priests.

      • Anonymous says:

        If they don’t beat them, they cheat on them. If they don’t cheat on them, they pervert the course of justice and/or act above the law. Some do all of the above. Not all of course, but far too many… The few who are decent people suffer because of the thugs…

    • Anonymous says:

      Cayman’s finest showing their true colors.

  13. ANNIEMAY says:

    He is a Caymanian HOW YOU GONNA DEPORT? SMH!

  14. Anonymous says:

    Please send him home before he meets another woman. His picture should also be shown so women can be made aware to stay far away from this loser.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Yes, deport him back to East End!

  16. Anonymous says:

    Great another monster on the street. I’m sure he can get a job from MacMonster, two peas in a pod…

  17. Anonymous says:

    Deporder oportation?

  18. Anonymous says:

    Deportation order!

  19. Anonymous says:

    Deportation order?

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