Rasbert Turner, Star Writer

Spanish Town

A 16-year-old girl who admitted to lying that she was sexually assaulted by a man, was taken into custody at the Spanish Town Resident Magistrate's Court yesterday and the accused man set free.

The teen, who was on the witness stand, revealed that she was not raped by the accused man, but by two other men. She said she was pressured by the police to say that the accused man raped her.

When RM Lorna Errar Gayle enquired why did she not report the men who had harm her, she failed to respond, but insisted that it was not the accused, who was charged with carnal abuse.

Having heard that, the RM told the man he was free to go and ordered that the child be taken into custody and charged with perverting the course of justice. She is to appear in the Children's Court later this month.

In recent times the courts in St Catherine have been overwhelmed with cases of a sexual nature committed against juveniles, which resulted in several police personnel asking persons with knowledge of these incidents to inform them.