DNA test saves rape accused

Donald Chinloy smiled with a faraway look in his eyes minutes after he was told that the result of a DNA test had cleared him of allegations of rape, abduction and robbery.

"God know dat mi neva guilty. The DNA further prove that mi never do it, but although it mek mi prove mi innocence I am still hurting," said Chinloy after he was freed in the St Catherine Circuit Court following an almost yearlong nightmare.

Chinloy said that he had been granted a new lease on life as a result of a DNA test which proved he did not touch the complainant.

The father of two, who lives in central Kingston, noted that his ordeal started on August 28, 2017 in the presence of his pregnant wife and his three-year-old daughter.

He said he was at a health centre in Portmore, St Catherine, when he was attacked and savagely beaten after it was alleged that he was a taxi driver who in May 2017 held up and robbed the complainant and raped her, also in Portmore.

Chinloy was rescued by the police and later arrested charged. He was adamant that he was innocent and offered to undergo a DNA test to prove his innocence.

His wife was also adamant that he was innocent, as she argued that he did not drive a vehicle and was not a wrongdoer.

She said the situation left their now-four-year-old daughter traumatised.

"She believed her father was killed, so even when he got bail it was still affecting her, she wanted to run away from him."

Attorney-at-law Cecile Griffiths-Ashton, who represented Chinloy, said justice has been served in his case, and underscored the importance of DNA tests.

"My client has suffered in many ways during this case. He has always maintained his innocence and the test confirmed what he has been saying," said Griffiths-Ashton.