Bail application begins for pastor charged with rape

PASTOR JASON Rose, the St James-based pastor charged with the rape of a 15-year-old girl, along with his wife, Kehmi Rose, and the girl’s mother, began their applications for bail through their attorneys when they made their second appearance in the St James Circuit Court on Tuesday.

The three defendants have been remanded until their next court date on Thursday, October 14, when their bail applications will continue.

While very little information has been forthcoming as to the details of the in-camera case, it is understood that during Tuesday’s proceedings, the circuit court issued an order restricting discussion of the matter.

The restriction was put in place to protect the complainant, who is said to be currently in state care. A similar order had previously been put in place when the case was before the St James Parish Court.

In addition to the pastor’s rape charge, all three defendants are charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice.

PROTECTING IDENTITY

Jason Rose is being represented by attorney Tamika Spencer-Anderson, while Kehmi Rose is represented by attorney Adrian Dayes. The complainant’s mother, whose name is being withheld to protect the minor’s identity, is being represented by attorney Martyn Thomas.

The trio made their first appearance in the St James Circuit Court on October 6, after their case was previously transferred from the St James Parish Court on September 27. That date marked the fifth time the pastor appeared before the parish court and the fourth appearance of his wife and the teen’s mother.

Jason Rose first appeared before the parish court on June 14, where he was offered bail in the sum of $300,000 on the rape charge.

However, he was remanded on June 16 in relation to an additional charge of perverting the course of justice, which the women were also charged with when they first appeared in court on that date.

PERVERSION OF JUSTICE

At that time, all three were denied bail in relation to the perversion of justice charge, out of concern that they would interfere with the minor. A gag order was also imposed on the court by presiding parish judge Sasha Ashley, concerning the case’s details.

The matter was later mentioned on July 19, and then on July 23. No specific details were given as to the case’s progression on those dates.

In the case against Jason Rose, on May 28 this year, the teenage complainant reported that she had been raped by the pastor on his church’s compound, where she had gone to use the facility’s Internet for an educational project.

Subsequent to the pastor’s arrest and charge, Kehmi Rose and the teen’s mother were arrested and charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice and breaching the Child Care and Protection Act.

The allegations in that matter are that on June 10, the victim and her mother visited the offices of the Jamaica Constabulary Force’s Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offices and Child Abuse, with the intention of giving a statement to the police that the child’s initial rape accusation against the pastor was untrue.

While being interviewed by the police in the presence of a Child Protection and Family Services Agency representative, the complainant reportedly explained that she was being forced to give the second statement by her mother, the accused pastor, and the pastor’s wife in order for the case to be dropped. The complainant’s mother was arrested on that day, and Kehmi Rose was arrested the following day.