Prosecutor chides police for not granting boy bail to write exams

Senior prosecutor Adolphus Delpesche has chided police for not granting a teenager bail to write his CSEC exams, suggesting that the system is set up to breed criminals.

The boy, a 16-year-old student of the Thomas Saunders Secondary School, {{more}}appeared at the Kingstown Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday and pleaded not guilty to entering the Agricultural Input Warehouse and stealing a printer and transformer valued at $981, between June 2 and 3, 2014.

Delpesche told SEARCHLIGHT on Wednesday that the police broke a promise made to the boy that he would be granted bail if the stolen items were recovered.

“He is 16 years old in Form 5. To me, that is a tremendous achievement. The offence for which he is charged is a bailable offence. He could have been given bail and given a chance to go and write his exams,” Delpesche said.

The boy, a resident of Rose Place, sobbed when he told the court that he missed the EPMD (Electronic Document Preparation and Management) after he had successfully completed the School Based Assessment (SBA) part of the exam.

“While he may have committed himself. we also have to give him a chance because his future is at stake,” Delpesche stated.

“I could understand if there is a situation where there is a domestic issue, where you may not want to give somebody bail for their own sake or he may go and commit himself again. I could understand those things,” Delpesche stated.

However, Delpesche said he is baffled as to why the youngster was kept in custody, with the police knowing that he had to write his exams.

“This is his future. That one is beyond me. The system looks like if we’re manufacturing criminals. He having lost the opportunity to do his exams, that can affect him tremendously psychologically. It would just continue to carry him down a life of crime,” Delpesche said.

The prosecutor said for the boy to have attained the fifth form level at the Thomas Saunders Secondary, he must have some substance.

“He made a mistake along the way. You don’t destroy his whole future because of that,” Delpesche said.

According to Delpesche, one of two things could have been done.

“If you charge him, give him station bail that same day and let him go and write his exams. The offence is minor. The stuff was recovered and the value is less than $1,000. Or if they didn’t want to give him bail, a police could have gone with him to the exam room. That is the worst case scenario. I am not advocating that. That would just draw undue pressure on him.

“He should have been afforded the opportunity to do his exam… This is a tremendous setback on the youngster. He will now have to wait until next year.”

The boy told the court that he does not know where his father is and that his mother resides in the Grenadines. He said that he lives alone in a house with his 14-year-old brother, who he takes care of with the money that is sent to them by their mother.

What is also of interest, is that moments before the 16-year-old was called to answer his charge, his brother appeared before magistrate Rechanne Browne-Matthias on a charge of theft, to which he pleaded guilty.

He is being kept in police custody until June 17.

The magistrate, who said she knew the face of the 16-year-old, said that the younger police officers should have been given some guidance by the senior officers in such a matter.

The teenager was granted bail on his own recognisance in the sum of $500 and the matter was adjourned to June 30.(KW)