Rape suspect throws missile at reporters

A rape suspect, one of three who appeared in court today, pelted reporters with bits of food.

Brothers Kareem Francis, 23, Akiva Francis, 18, and a friend of Akiva, Jamal Lionel, were charged with two counts of rape and burglary.

The charges arose from an incident late last year in which two teenage girls were violated at their home in Reduit.

The men were remanded in custody until April 8, 2016, when the matter will be taken before the High Court for a sufficiency hearing.

Ava Francis, the mother of the two brothers, in an interview with the Times expressed regret over the situation.

“I am not happy. I raised my sons to know better. It is heart-breaking as anything else, but as a parent you just have to do what you have to do for your kids,” she said.

She told the Times she wanted to extend sincerest apologies to the two young girls who were hurt in the process.

“I know there is nothing that I can say to take the pain of what has been done away but really and truly I apologize to you all and your parents for my sons being involved in this,” Francis responded when asked what she would like to say to the alleged victims.

She disclosed that the eldest of the two boys was working, while the other was in the process of obtaining employment.

According to Francis the other rape suspect, Jamal Lionel, a friend of her younger son, had asked to stay with her family.

She disclosed that after initially expressing reluctance, she later agreed out of concern for the young man and a recognition that her own children could one day find themselves in a similar situation.

Via St Lucia Times