Alleged obeah man to be sentenced for rape today
AN alleged obeahman, who raped a university student after tricking her into believing that he could get rid of a spirit that was supposedly following her, is to be sentenced in the Clarendon Circuit Court today.
The complainant was raped in bushes in May Pen in September 2016 after the convict, Baldwin Hyman, told her that she needed to have sex with him to remove the “thing inside her” and she refused.
Hyman was found guilty of rape on May 5 following a week-long trial in the circuit court.
He was also charged with grievous sexual assault but was found not guilty on that charge.
Prosecutors Andrea Martin Swaby, deputy director of public prosecutions, and Syleen Ogilvie led evidence during the trial that in September, the complainant was walking along the road in May Pen when Hyman approached her and informed her that ‘duppy’ was following her.
Hyman then told the complainant that he could help her. He then invited her into his motor vehicle and requested payment for the intended remedy.
The complainant agreed and gave him a total of $9,000.
Hyman then drove the student to a bushy area in May Pen where he instructed her to take off her clothes and then poured liquid on parts of her body.
He instructed her that he had to have sexual intercourse with her by 6:00 pm to remove the thing inside of her. She refused, but he insisted, and then he forced himself on her.
The complainant reported the matter to the police a week later and Hyman was held during a sting operation in the town of May Pen.
According to reports, the complainant had been experiencing medical problems for some time and was genuinely convinced that Hyman could assist her.
In the meantime, Hyman is also charged in Manchester for similar offences and is awaiting trial in that parish.
He was also tried in the circuit court for St a Elizabeth for rape, following allegations that he had raped another university student. However, he was acquitted.