Policeman on trial for sex crime: Prosecution demands 6 years

The prosecution on Monday demanded that officer Wishal B be put in the state penitentiary for 6 years. The prosecution also asked the court to put the defendant in jail. WB is being accused of having forced a woman to perform sexual acts in the Wanica District on July 17, 2015. The district attorney pointed out that the defendant has consistently insisted that he is innocent. The victim told the court that she and her husband were riding a moped when they got into a fight. She decided not to ride along with him anymore. Later a gray vehicle which was being driven by officer Wishal B pulled over next to her. She explained the situation to the officer who indicated that he would bring her to the police station. She trusted the officer so she got into his car. But the officer took her to another location where he pulled the car over. He then grabbed her head and put it in his genital area. He pulled out his gun and put it against her forehead to force her to perform sexual acts. Afterwards the victim called somebody she knew to explain what had happened to her. She was picked up and taken to the police station. Forensics reports indicate that the sperm that was on the victim’s blouse matches the DNA of the suspect. The suspect claimed, however, that he had had sex with another woman in his car the previous night and that his sperm somehow ended up on the victim’s blouse. He kept denying the accusations and kept insisting that he had only given the victim a ride. The district attorney pointed out that the suspect had committed the crime while he was wearing a police uniform and that he had also used his service gun. “His actions have tainted the reputation of the police force. The police uniform was the reason why the victim trusted him enough to get into his car. He has disrespected the uniform given to him to serve the people. The suspect took advantage of the victim who is a foreigner in Suriname and who does not speak the language fluently. He thought that the victim would not know where to seek justice,” said the district attorney. The trial is scheduled to resume in February.