BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FROM the time of their establishment, media houses in the twin-island Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis [including SKNVibes.com] had been publishing the names, pictures and addresses of individuals accused of rape and unlawful carnal knowledge, as well as pertinent information revealed at hearings in camera.
Although an individual would have been charged with rape and or unlawful carnage knowledge, he is innocent until proven guilty. And in protection of the victim’s identity, especially a female under the age of consent (16), publication of the name of the accused, picture and certain information revealed in court will most certainly lead to her identity.
There were two recent separate incidents involving a Police Constable and a national footballer charged with rape and unlawful carnal knowledge of underage girls. SKNVibes was provided the name of the Constable by the police and had published same, but quickly removed it after being made aware of the adverse repercussions to the victim, as well as to the accused, by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
In the case of the national footballer, this media house published the article and omitted the name of the accused. However, a blogger had taken the article and posted it on Facebook with the picture and name of a very popular national footballer attached to it.
Many visitors to this site had posted derogatory comments within which the name of a national footballer was mentioned. Therefore, in protection of the victim and also the accused, management turned off all comments and this action caused some individuals to send inquiring messages to the Editor-in-Chief while many others took the opportunity to post scathing comments under other articles. Fortunately, those comments were also turned off.
While in some countries it is permissible to publish certain information concerning one accused of rape and unlawful carnal knowledge, the laws of St. Christopher and Nevis do not. And as a result of the recent incidents, the DPP has provided SKNVibes with a copy of the revised edition of Chapter 4:21 of the Constitution – “Offences Against The Person Act”.
With regard to Hearings in Camera, the Act states that in the interest of public morality, only the parties involved and their counsels should be present in court for offences such as rape, defilement of a girl under 16 years, indecent assault, sodomy, incest, any offence involving children, and an attempt to commit any of these offences.
It further states that the judge or magistrate may permit the presence of any other person at the request of the complainant.
The Act however categorically sates, “The passing of sentence in relation to any offence to which this section applies shall take place in public.”
On the subject of Anonymity of the Complainant, the act states that after a person is charged with any of the abovementioned offences, no information that is likely to lead the public to identify the complainant or the accused should be published in a written publication or be broadcast in the Federation except for the following:
1. Where, on application of the complainant or the accused, the court directs that the effect of the restriction is to impose a substantial and unreasonable restriction on the reporting of proceedings and that it is in the public interest to remove the restriction in respect of the applicant; or
2. In the case of an accused, after he or she has been tried and convicted of the offence.
The Act clearly states that anyone who publishes or broadcast any matter contrary to the abovementioned commits an offence and is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding EC$5 000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years.
The Editor-in-Chief would like to use this opportunity to inform visitors to this website to refrain from using profane languages when posting comments.
