Supreme Court clears music producer of 2020 rape allegation

KINGSTON, Jamaica — A 40-year-old music producer has been cleared of rape in a case linked to allegations from 2020. The trial ended when the presiding judge accepted a no-case submission put forward by his defence team, King's Counsel Peter Champagnie and attorney Patrice Riley.

The lawyers contended that the complainant could not be treated as a reliable witness. They pointed to cross-examination testimony showing that what she told the court did not align with what she had reported to the police.

Court evidence showed the woman said the producer had raped her violently, yet she still accepted food he offered her afterward. She also acknowledged that within 15 minutes of leaving the room where she claimed the assault took place, she sent him a message asking about a lighter she had left behind and requesting that he bring it to her room.

The complainant was unable to explain these contradictions. Under further questioning, she confirmed that friends were on the premises where she said the rape occurred, but she did not inform any of them because she did not want the accused to come to harm.

The producer maintained throughout that no rape took place and that the two had been in a consensual sexual relationship, a fact her boyfriend had discovered. The matter was heard over five days in the Supreme Court.