A Hothersal Turning man who admitted to the “mistake” of indecently assaulting a female tourist in Bridgetown has been remanded to Dodds Prison, after the court heard he carried out the attack while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.
“It is no defence for a man to get drunk and do these types of things,” Acting Chief Magistrate Douglas Frederick told Jeffrey David Yearwood when he appeared in the No. 1 District ‘A’ Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to assaulting the woman last Friday.
The court heard that the Canadian visitor went to Fairchild Street to have a drink and walked over to Freedom Park. Yearwood approached her and indecently assaulted her. She pushed him away and shouted for him to get off. He appeared to be intoxicated, and his speech was slurred. Bystanders intervened, and the complainant called the police.
During his police interview, Yearwood admitted that he had been under the influence of marijuana and cocaine at the time, prosecutor Sergeant Reginald Blackman said.
Addressing the court, Yearwood said: “It was a mistake. I was under the influence of alcohol. I am a family man, and I have things to buy for my children for school and don’t want to disappoint them. I would like to ask politely if I could get a fine or personal bail. I am not a flight risk as I do not have a passport.”
But the chief magistrate said the “violation of another person” is a serious matter, for which there was “a real possibility of a custodial sentence”.
He added: “Only recently were these matters changed so that we could deal with them in the Magistrates’ Court, but previously these were reserved for the domain of the High Court because they are very serious matters.
“You have also said that it was not you, in the sense that you were intoxicated or under the influence of drugs or whatever, but let me tell you for your knowledge that intoxication is really not a defence to these types of matters. [Being] under the influence of drugs or drink is no defence. It might be taken into consideration as a mitigating factor.”
After ordering a presentence report, Frederick informed Yearwood that he would be remanded to protect the community: “It seems as though there is a need for a type of intervention, because you are obviously a clear and present danger to the society to be walking about doing these things,” he said.
Yearwood, who has one previous conviction for assault in 2021, was remanded to Dodds until September 10.
(JB)
