Patricia Webster’s case adjourned until 25 November
Patricia Monique Webster appeared in Summary Court on Tuesday facing two charges of misconduct in public office and two charges of abuse of office.
Crown Counsel Elisabeth Lees said misconduct in public office is contrary to Common Law and can be tried only in the Grand Court, so those charges could be sent to the higher court that day.
The related charges of abuse of office, brought under the Anti-Corruption Law, were also sent.
Webster, 30, was represented by attorney Prathna Bodden. No details were given in court, but a recent news release from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service stated a civilian staffer within the police service was on paid leave after corruption charges were filed against her (Caymanian Compass, 28 October).
Details of one charge are that Webster, being a public officer, did wilfully misconduct herself in abuse of the public trust by making extensive searches of the confidential police database and soliciting information from the immigration database without reasonable excuse or justification in order to ascertain whether a named person was the subject of a criminal investigation.
This activity is alleged to have occurred between 19 April and 11 August.
The second charge of misconduct in office alleges Webster did misconduct herself in breach of the public trust by using the confidential police database to obtain the personal telephone number of a named person and then passing the number on to a third party without reasonable excuse or justification. This activity was said to have occurred on or before 16 August.
The charges brought under the Anti-Corruption Law relate to the same alleged actions, but the wording is different. This set accuses Webster in terms of “being a public officer did, in abuse of the authority of your office, an arbitrary act” with details following.
Magistrate Nova Hall adjourned the matters until Friday, 25 November, and continued Webster’s bail until then.
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