A 53-year-old Bodden Town man accused of raping and indecently assaulting a 5-year-old girl more than a dozen times and believed to be on the run, has been given six weeks to turn himself in or risk being remanded into custody if apprehended by police.
Noel Paul Manning, who also goes by the aliases “Indian”, “Doc” and “Doctor”, was granted bail by the Grand Court back in July, at which time he pleaded not guilty to four counts of rape, eight counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape.
At the July hearing, a seven-day trial was set for 4 Dec. However, on 24 Nov., the trial was vacated upon request of the prosecution who had encountered difficulties gathering evidence from the complainant, who was based in Jamaica at the time.
Manning was a no-show at November’s hearing, at which time his attorney Lee Halliday-Davis informed the court that it was often difficult to contact him as he would venture off for extended periods on his farm, which was located in a remote part of East End.
Then on 9 Jan., the RCIPS issued a wanted notice for Manning, claiming that he had removed his electronic-monitoring device and breached his bail conditions.
On Friday, 2 Feb., Scott Wainwright, assistant deputy director of public prosecutions, asked the court to consider issuing a warrant for Manning’s arrest in light of his failure to surrender.
“I understand that there is a suggestion that Mr. Manning has absconded and removed his ankle bracelet though I have no evidence of this,” said Wainwright, who asked the court to issue a warrant with no chance of bail.
Before the warrant was issued, his attorney asked Justice Cheryll Richards to consider delaying its activation for six weeks to allow for time to contact Manning and inform him of the recent developments.
Family fears the worse
“It is highly unusual for him to not be in contact with his family for such a long period of time,” said Halliday-Davis.
She added, “His wife fears the worse in relation to the seriousness of the charges and the publicity in relation to these matters.”
According to Halliday-Davis, his family has concerns over his safety and fear that he might self-harm.
Manning has an extended history of disappearing and running in breach of bail conditions, which have resulted in multiple missing/wanted notices being issued by police.
In their most recent notice, the police also reminded the public that anyone who is discovered assisting Manning’s efforts to evade police would also be prosecuted.
It is an “offence to obstruct, mislead or act in such a way as to prevent the apprehension of a person who has committed an offence”, said police at the time, adding that offenders may be liable on conviction to a $5,000 fine or imprisonment for two years or both.
When issuing the warrant, Richards acceded to Halliday-Davis’ request and stayed it for six weeks. This means if Manning does not turn himself in before the 1 March deadline, and he is found by police thereafter, he will be taken into custody without the chance of bail.
Related Videos
