Retired Assistant Commissioner of Police and former Chairman of the Police Service Commission Paul Slowe has been cleared of sexual assault after Senior Magistrate Fabayo Azore ruled that the prosecution failed to establish its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
The decision was handed down today at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, ending a matter that remained before the courts for several years. Magistrate Azore, in delivering her ruling, said she could not rely on the prosecution’s evidence and found that it fell short of the legal standard required for a conviction.
The charge arose from allegations made by a female police officer, who claimed that Slowe sexually assaulted her on three occasions during March and April 2019 at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary. During the trial, Slowe’s attorneys had submitted that there was no case to answer, but that application was initially rejected after the court ruled that the prosecution had presented sufficient evidence for him to mount a defence.
However, after hearing the full case and reviewing the evidence, the Magistrate ultimately determined that the prosecution did not prove the allegation beyond a reasonable doubt and returned a not guilty verdict.
Slowe was represented by attorneys Dexter Todd and Dawn Cush. The ruling brings closure to the long-running proceedings stemming from the 2019 allegations.
