Man found guilty of assaulting woman but not guilty of rape

Bhola Bhagwandin known as ‘Buddy’ was on Thursday found guilty of brutally assaulting a woman during an alleged rape.

Bhagwandin was on trial before Justice Jo-Ann Barlow at the Demerara High Court before a 12-member jury; he had pleaded not guilty to the two counts of rape which alleged that on September 2, 2019, in the County of Demerara, he engaged in sexual penetration with the woman.

Bhagwandin also denied a third charge which stated that on the same date and location, he assaulted the victim thereby causing her actual bodily harm.

The jury, after deliberating for almost two hours, returned a unanimous not guilty verdict on the two counts of rape, however, he was found guilty on the assault charge.

Bhagwandin will remain on bail until his sentencing hearing on October 20; as such, he was ordered to stay150 ft away from the victim. The State was represented by prosecutor Sarah Martin while Bhagwandin was represented by attorney-at-law Teriq Mohammed.