By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A TEENAGE girl described her ordeal as a “nightmare” as she testified that her grandfather molested her multiple times over five years.

Senior Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson presided yesterday in the incest trial involving a 62-year-old male defendant, whose name is withheld to protect the complainant’s identity. He faces 22 counts of incest and one of indecent assault.

The defendant allegedly engaged in unlawful sexual intercourse with his granddaughter on 22 occasions between May 1, 2019, and January 23, 2024, in New Providence. He is also accused of indecently assaulting her on January 24.

The victim, who was between the ages of 11 and 15 when the offences occurred, testified virtually. She claimed that her grandfather forced her into anal sex and made her perform oral sex on him repeatedly. She said she had lived with him and her younger siblings her entire life, but moved out in February when the alleged abuse was revealed.

Recalling a text conversation with her girlfriend, whom she referred to as “wifey,” she admitted she initially lied, saying her grandfather had stopped molesting her two years prior. However, at the start of the year, she confessed the abuse had continued.

The complainant also told the court that her grandfather’s actions were the reason she no longer liked boys.

She revealed she had been too scared to tell her grandmother about the abuse but eventually confided in her girlfriend. With her girlfriend’s encouragement, she disclosed the abuse to her mother in February.

In a text to her mother, the complainant said her grandfather had been “bothering” her since she was 12 and had never stopped. She expressed exhaustion from enduring the abuse for so long.

After the revelation, her mother instructed her to pack her bags. Her grandmother picked her up to take her away from the house.

During cross-examination by the defendant’s attorney, Sonia Timothy Knowles, the complainant recounted an incident in May 2019. She said she was lying in her grandfather’s bed watching TV when he reached under the covers and touched her inappropriately. She claimed she just lay there as it happened, marking this as the first instance of abuse.

She further testified that her siblings were either watching TV or playing outside when the abuse occurred. On another occasion, she said she cried when her grandfather first tried to penetrate her anally, explaining she made a sound but not a loud cry.

The complainant admitted she once had a close relationship with her grandfather but began to resent him as the abuse continued. She described him as strict and frightening, claiming he often prevented her from going out and was violent, hitting her with objects like rakes and hammers.

She testified that her grandfather touched her hip more than ten times over the years and forced her to perform oral sex frequently. She further alleged the anal assaults began in mid-2019 and continued until late 2023, happening every other week until 2022, when she briefly ran away.

The complainant expressed frustration at herself for not speaking out sooner and said she tried to avoid engaging with the defendant.

She firmly rejected Mrs Timothy Knowles’ suggestion that her grandfather never molested her and that she fabricated the claims to move to a less strict household to see her girlfriend.

When prosecutor Rashied Edgecombe asked her how the situation made her feel, she replied that it felt like a nightmare and that she tried not to think about it.

She informed Mr Edgecombe that she has developed trust issues with men due to the alleged abuse and that she attended therapy earlier this year.

Additionally, she claimed to have engaged in self-harm in the past but said her girlfriend was the reason she stopped.

Throughout her testimony, the complainant appeared visibly upset but remained calm and assured when answering questions.

Sergeant Brice testified that on February 7, 2024, she was present during a police confrontation between the complainant and the defendant, with the complainant’s mother also in attendance. During this confrontation, the complainant alleged that her grandfather had anally and orally molested her.

Sergeant Brice said the defendant objected to the confrontation without his lawyer and expressed that he felt embarrassed to do so in front of his “kids.”