Senator Frederick to appear at Mesopotamia court July 31

Senator Vynnette Frederick will appear before magistrate Ricky Burnett at the Mesopotamia Magistrate’s Court on July 31, when a date will be set for the hearing of nine criminal charges she now faces.{{more}}

Frederick, who is currently on station bail, last Friday appeared at the Family Court and pleaded not guilty to all nine charges.

She was slapped with the nine charges last Thursday, hours after she was cleared of six criminal charges at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court.

The first six of the nine new charges were brought under Section 96 of the Criminal Code, Chapter 171 of the Revised Edition of the Laws of SVG 2009, and are similar to the six she faced previously, except that they now include particulars.

The first two charges are that she made a false declaration and swore falsely to a private criminal complaint on January 10, 2011, before Chief Magistrate Sonya Young that “On Sunday, August 29, 2010, at Park Hill the Honourable Prime Minister Dr. Ralph E. Gonsalves said of and concerning me among other things that my father Bayliss Frederick send me away as a girl and I came back as a boy”, under circumstances that the false declaration, if committed in a judicial proceeding would have amounted to perjury.

She was further charged that she made a false declaration and swore falsely on May 23, 2012, before Faye James, a person authorised to take a declaration, to wit, “I listened to the tape and when the Honourable Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves made the comments I heard the persons in attendance shouting the words ‘lesbian’, she love woman amongst other things,” under circumstances that the false declaration, if committed in judicial proceeding would have amounted to perjury.

She was further charged that on June 16, 2011, she made a false declaration and swore falsely before Miss Faye James, a person authorised to take a declaration, to wit, “What is more troubling, is that during the period of a pregnant pause members of the electorate who attended the political meeting where the words said, stated and shouted lesbian”, under the circumstances that the false declaration, if committed in a judicial proceeding would have amounted to perjury.

The senator now also faces three new charges.

The first states that on January 10, 2011, at Kingstown and within the first magisterial district, with intent to mislead the court, she fabricated evidence to wit, “by swearing to a statement before Sonya Young, Chief Magistrate”, saying “On Sunday, August 29, 2010, at Park Hill, the Honourable Prime Minister, Dr Ralph E. Gonsalves said of and concerning me among other things, that my father Bayliss Frederick send me away as a girl and I came back as a boy.”

She is also charged, that on May 23, 2012, she fabricated evidence to wit, “by swearing before Mrs Faye James, saying, “I listen to the tape and when the Honourable Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves made the comment, I head persons in attendance shouting the words ‘lesbian’, she love woman, amongst other things.”

The ninth charge is that on June 16, 2011, with intent to mislead the court, Frederick fabricated evidence by swearing to an affidavit before Faye James saying, “What is more troubling is that during the period of a pregnant pause, members of the Electorate who attended the political meeting where the words were said, stated and shouted out ‘lesbian’.”

The last three charges were brought under section 101(a) of the Criminal Code, Chapter 171 of the laws of SVG 2009.

Last Thursday, Burnett dismissed the six charges Frederick had initially faced, ruling in favour of an application by Frederick’s attorneys Keith Scotland and Andrew Pilgrim that the charges their client faced, lacked particulars and details.

Shortly after she was released by the court, police officers from the Criminal Investigations Department and Special Services Unit re-arrested Frederick while she was having lunch with her family, attorneys and friends at the Oleander Restaurant. (KW)