DPP CLEARS SPEAKER OF SEX ASSAULT CLAIMS
The Director of Public Prosecutions, Shalimar Ali-Hack has advised the Guyana Police Force that there is no basis for sex assault charges to be laid against Speaker of the National Assembly Raphael Trotman.
The advice comes following a complaint filed by a young Guyanese man, Johnnie Welshman who had claimed that he was sexually assaulted by the Speaker when he was a young boy. He is now in his early 20âs. He had also made similar claims against his father and a friend of his father.
The Police Force has been advised by the DPP that there is no evidence contained in the complaint that should result in any criminal charges being filed against Trotman and therefore there is no need for investigations into the matter to continue.
The Speaker has always maintained his innocence in the matter since the accusations were first levelled against him back in September, 2014. He was the first to call for a full investigation into the matter since he said he was confident of being exonerated. Trotman was also of the view that the allegations were politically motivated.
He said although he knew the young man through his father, the two were never really friends. Welshman had lived in Trinidad and Tobago for a number of years.
In a number of Facebook posts before he came to Guyana and levelled the allegations against the Speaker, Welshman admitted that he suffered from severe depression and was on medication. During his stay in Guyana, he was rushed to the hospital once and taken into police custody after he attempted to commit suicide.
Speaker Trotman had filed a $50 Million lawsuit against Welshman for his publications on the internet and the newspapers about the alleged sex abuse. That case is expected to come up later this year.
Filed: 4th February, 2015
