A West Bay man accused of rape and defilement will have to go to the Grand Court for bail following a brief Summary Court hearing that ended with him being remanded into custody.
The 33-year-old man faces two counts of rape which allege that in October and November last year, he raped a child under the age of 16.
The rape charges are separate from a single count of defilement which is said to have occurred sometime between February 2020 and February 2021.
It is not clear if it was the same complainant in both cases as no other details were made public during Tuesday’s hearing.
“These are ‘Category A’ charges, which means they cannot be dealt with in these courts, and so I must transmit them to the higher court, the Grand Court, where you will have the right to a jury trial,” Chief Magistrate Valdis Foldats told the defendeant.
The man was initially taken into custody by police on Wednesday, 4 Jan., after he failed to pay a $1,000 fine for an undisclosed conviction. While in custody, he was subsequently charged with rape.
Although he told the court he was in a position to pay the fine, and was keen to be released, no bail application was made.
He was remanded into custody and is expected to make his next appearance on 20 Jan.
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