Deputy Chief Magistrate Carolita Bethell will issue her ruling in the Bishop Earl Randy Fraser sex abuse case in October, after closing submissions were made last week by the prosecution and defense.
Bethell has been accused of delaying decisions in order to solicit bribes from defendants. Of course, the accusations have come from defendants and no evidence has ever been presented.
Prosecutors allege that Fraser, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church, St. James Road engaged in sexual relations with a 16-year-old girl he was counselling between June 2005 and February 2006.
This is the second time Fraser has been tried on the allegation.
In the first trial, Magistrate Marilyn Meeres ruled Fraser had no case to answer. The Court of Appeal, however, ordered a new trial after ruling Meeres applied the wrong legal principle in reaching her decision.
Five years on and the accused pervert remains unconvicted, despite overwhelming evidence against him – including recordings of lewd phone calls made to the victim, semen stains on the church carpet and a previous history of perversion.
The trial has been a mockery of the Bahamian legal system, a justice system so dysfunctional, it is beyond repair.
There are serious problems throughout; including policemen, lawyers, court employees, judges, prosecutors, witnesses, prison officials and virtually every area of the legal system.
And Randy Fraser’s case as touched them all.
