Man 49, found guilty of raping 12-year-old boy
A 49-year-old man was on Monday remanded to prison pending sentencing after a jury found him unanimously guilty of raping a 12-year-old boy. Wazir Potter was indicted by State Prosecutors Sarah Martin and Nafeezah Baig for rape of a child under 16 years.
The jury found that on August 08, 2018, in Demerara, Potter engaged in sexual penetration with the 12-year-old boy. Following the guilty verdict, Potter who had been out on bail was remanded to prison until July 27, 2021, when he will be sentenced by Justice Brassington Reynolds.
According to the facts, on the day in question, the young boy was standing on a bridge not too far from Wazir’s house when someone grabbed him by his shirt from behind. The person covered the lad’s mouth and carried him into a house. The boy said that when he reached the living room, he realised it was Potter who had grabbed him.
The boy was taken into a bedroom by the man where he was placed to lie on his belly on a bed. Potter then covered the teen’s mouth with his hand and raped him. The child told the Court that he was in pain throughout the ordeal which lasted for about 20 to 30 minutes.
In his defence, Potter elected to give an unsworn statement in which he accused the teen of framing him because of a property dispute. “And if I do it, let God come down and cripple me right here,” Potter had told the 12-member jury.
