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Precedent set as jury finds man guilty of sexually assaulting his wife

ever in Bermuda, convicted a man of seriously sexually assaulting his wife and doing her bodily harm. The maximum penalty for the offence is 30 years in prison.

The 10-2 vote was received by a silent court. The 52-year-old man, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his wife, remained calm but appeared shocked by the verdict.

The case is the first of its kind in Bermuda and is the first to be brought before a jury since Section 329b of the 1992 Amendment Act criminalised the sexual assault of a spouse.

The seven-man five-woman jury took just over two hours to reach a majority verdict following a lengthy five-hour summation by Puisne Judge the Hon. Mr.

Justice Meerabux.

Sentencing was adjourned pending the outcome of a social inquiry report. The judge also agreed to grant bail until the sentencing date which was not fixed yesterday. The man was ordered to appear at arraignments in July.

Crown Counsel Mr. Melvin Douglas and defence lawyer Miss Elizabeth Christopher standing in for Mr. Archibald Warner refused to comment on the trial's outcome.

The Crown claimed that on August 18 last year, the accused pulled his wife to the bathroom floor, sexually assaulted her and also tried to choke her.

The woman claimed the act was not consensual and that she asked him several times to stop and tried to push him off. Her nephew who said he kicked down the bathroom door when he heard a gasp for air, testified he saw the accused lying naked on the complainant and with his hands around her neck.

But the accused who testified last week, claimed the woman had engaged in the act voluntarily. He denied putting his hands around her neck and claimed he was fondling her at the time. Mr. Warner also contended there was no physical evidence to indicate an assault had taken place.

The trial, expected to last just a week, ran into its third yesterday. Mr.

Melvin Douglas took over the Crown's case from Mr. Khamisi Tokunbo who was called away to another engagement last week.