BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – POPULAR businessman Ashley Allers of Jones Street, Fortlands was on Saturday (Jul. 6) granted bail in the sum of $100,000 with seven conditions, after he had breached his previous bail conditions in December 2018.
Allers, who is charged with two counts of Rape, allegedly committed on February 3, 2018 and March 31, 2018, was first granted bail on July 6, 2018 with conditions; one of which was that he was not to come within 100 meters of the virtual complainant (VC) or to have any contact or interfere with her.
The businessman however violated the court order, the bail was revoked and he was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison on January 21, 2019.
Allers has since been granted bail and, in addition to the $100,000, he has to report to the Basseterre Police Station twice weekly; observe a daily curfew; no contact should be made with the VC; not to come within 100 meters of the VC; surrender all travel documents; surrender any and all firearms in his possession; and to keep the peace and be of good behavior.
He is scheduled to appear at the Basseterre Magistrate’s Court on August 23, 2019.
Circumstances pertaining to the judgment handed down by Resident Judge Trevor M. Ward, QC, at the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, St. Christopher Circuit that was brought against Allers for breaching his bail conditions, can be found online – “Director of Public Prosecutions V Ashley Allers”.
The document states that the VC declared that while standing outside BCA on Central Street during J’ouvert morning on December 26, 2018, she had observed Allers was walking quickly towards her.
She claimed that he charged at her saying, “You see you, you see you”, while at the same time raising both of his hands and pointing them aggressively at her face. He was about one foot away from her.
However, an off duty police officer, Leroy James, who was functioning as a Disc Jockey outside BCA, quickly intervened and restrained Allers.
The document also states that in his supporting affidavit, James “averred that he observed the respondent approaching the complainant. He appeared angry and was saying something to her. James immediately stopped what he was doing, approached the respondent and pushed him away, admonishing him to leave the complainant alone. The complainant then left the scene immediately and reported the confrontation to the Basseterre Police”.
It further states that in his affidavit in response to the VC’s claim, Allers contended that because of their long standing relationship, the VC was well aware that for years he attended BCA every J’ouvert morning as she would object to his presence there.
Allers and the VC were involved in an intimate relationship for about 17 years.
Allers had earlier that morning been confronted by a person whom he said was dating the VC and that he had reported both to the police. He also said while on his way back to BCA he was surprised to see the complainant standing at the entrance to BCA and deduced that she had deliberately positioned herself there to either provoke or place him in a position to breach his bail conditions.
He claimed that in a state of disbelief, he stopped walking and pointed at her saying, “You see you.” He said he uttered those words out of shock and frustration but not in a threatening manner, and that it was at that point James intervened, pushing him inside of BCA and telling him to stay inside to avoid any confusion.
The background circumstances that led to the imposition of the bail conditions were the two counts of rape with which Allers was charged.
The court was told that on February 3, 2018, by mutual consent, Allers was at the VC’s house to spend the night. “He demanded sex, she refused and so he raped her and forced her to perform fellatio.”
The incident was not immediately reported to the police. However, in the ensuing days he continuously harassed the VC with text messages. And on March 15 he followed her vehicle to Frigate Bay and back to Basseterre, which led her to report the rape incident.
Inspector James Francis, head of the Criminal Investigations Department, had visited Allers at his business establishment that said day, informed him of the allegations and warned him to stay away from the VC.
The court was also told that on March 31, 2018 Allers had uninvitingly entered the VC’s home, assaulted her and also threatened to kill her. He then placed his licensed firearm on the ground before ordering her to perform fellatio on him.
Following that act, he led her to the bedroom and raped her while positioning the firearm at the foot of the bed. Thereafter, he ordered her into his vehicle and drove to Ocean’s Edge.
However, when the vehicle came to a halt at the guard booth to the property, the VC seized the opportunity to run to the guard and begged him to call the police. Allers then took hold of her and started to drag her towards his vehicle, but a police officer had intervened.
At that bail hearing, Allers was represented by Attorney-at-Law Jason Hamilton and the DPP was represented by State Counsel Teshaun Vasquez.
The court was satisfied that the situation between Allers and the VC was a volatile one, noting that he was “well aware of the conditions of his bail, and by his admission, even thought that he was being set up to breach them yet made a conscious decision to continue in the direction of the complainant and to engage her aggressively in clear breach of bail instead of turning off and putting distance between them. But for the quick intervention of Leroy James, the situation could have rapidly escalated with dire consequences”.
At the end of the bail hearing, Ashley Allers was remanded to Her Majesty’s Prison on January 21, 2019.
