A string of errors by prosecutors caused a man accused of having sex with a minor to walk free on Friday, The Nassau Guardian can reveal.
Senior Justice Jon Isaacs told Kevin Salabie he was free to go after his lawyer Ian Cargill pointed out that prosecutors had filed a defective charge.
Cargill pointed out that Salabie was “not properly before the court” as prosecutors had charged him under a repealed act.
He had pointed out the error three weeks earlier, but prosecutors failed to correct the mistake by filing a new charge.
On Friday, prosecutors asked Justice Isaacs for permission to amend the charge against Salabie. However, Cargill said there was nothing to amend because the “voluntary bill of indictment (VBI) was not valid because the offense did not exist, because the act [under which Salabie was charged] did not exist.” The judge agreed and told Salabie that he was free to go.
Cargill attributed the error to laziness. He told The Guardian, “Three weeks ago the issue was raised. Instead of being lazy, I expected them to walk into court with a new summons and VBI.”
Cargill said that police made the initial error when they charged Salabie under the repealed act. He said prosecutors “compounded” the mistake when they sent the case to the Supreme Court via a VBI using the same repealed act.
Salabie was arraigned before Magistrates’ Court Number 6 on July 21, 2011 in relation to an incident that allegedly occurred on May 5. The case was transferred to the Supreme Court by a VBI on August 17, 2011.
