Doctor freed of rape charge

Barbara Gayle, Justice Coordinator

A medical doctor practising in Port Antonio, Portland wept openly in the Home Circuit Court yesterday, after he was freed of a rape charge.

Dr Oral Kirkland was accused of sexually assaulting a patient at his office in November 2010.

In addressing the seven-member jury, defence lawyers, Carl McDonald and Tameka Jordan, called for the doctor to be freed saying there were too many inconsistencies in the prosecution's case.

The lawyers argued that there were contradictions in the report that the complainant gave to the police and inconsistencies in her testimony in court.

In his defence, Dr. Kirland denied committing the offence.

The prosecution had applied for the case to be transferred to Kingston because the doctor was well-known in the parish of Portland.

After Supreme Court Judge Sarah Thompson James completed her summation yesterday, the jury retired for one hour and 20 minutes and returned a not guilty verdict.

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