St Elizabeth teacher freed of child cruelty charges

A St Elizabeth teacher whose adopted daughter accused her of abuse wept openly on Tuesday when she was freed of child cruelty charges in the St Elizabeth Parish Court.

The 64-year-old teacher was freed after Parish Judge Dionne Lawrence-Pivott upheld a no-case submission by attorney-at-law Matthew Hyatt during the trial and returned a not-guilty verdict.

The prosecution's case was that sometime between 2014 and 2021 the teacher mentally and physically assaulted the 14-year-old complainant causing pain and suffering. The complainant, who was adopted at age four when her biological mother died, is also alleged to have run away from home because of the abuse.

During the trial, the complainant, who is now 17 years old, gave evidence that she was beaten daily for the simplest things and that she was sometimes beaten with rags, pots and wooden spoons.

She also claimed that the beating would last 3-5 minutes long and complained that she was forced to clean the chicken coop.

But under cross-examination, several discrepancies and inconsistencies were uncovered.

The complainant admitted that it was her father who had beaten her on the night she ran away from home.

The defence also suggested that the child was not only dishonest but that she acted out of malice because her adopted mother had reprimanded her for stealing $12,000.

Meanwhile, the judge in upholding the no-case submission said, "There were certain inconsistencies and discrepancies which go to the root of the case which the witness was not able to rehabilitate herself after the case.”

- Tanesha Mundle

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