Absent complainant stalls rape trial of St James-based pastor

Today's anticipated trial of Jason Rose, the St James-based pastor accused of raping a teenage girl in 2021, and his two co-defendants has been rescheduled to January 19, 2024, to give the authorities time to locate the complainant.

Rose, his wife Kehmi, and the complainant's mother got the new court date today and had their bails extended after the St James Circuit Court was informed that the complainant cannot be found.

There have been few details from the in-camera matter since it was transferred from the St James Parish Court to the St James Circuit Court on September 27, 2021.

In addition to Jason Rose's rape charge, the three defendants are all charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice. 

Kehmi Rose and the complainant's mother, whose name will not be published to protect the complainant's identity, are also charged with breaching the Child Care and Protection Act.

Allegations are that on May 28, 2021, the complainant, who was 15 at the time, reported that she had been raped by the pastor on his church's compound, where she had gone to use the facility's Internet for an educational project.

It is further alleged that on June 10, 2021, the victim and her mother visited the offices of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offices and Child Abuse to give a statement that the child's initial rape accusation against the pastor was not true.

While being interviewed, the complainant reportedly explained that she was being forced to give the second statement by her mother, the accused pastor, and the pastor's wife in order for the case to be dropped. 

The complainant's mother was arrested on that day, and Kehmi Rose was arrested the following day, June 11.

- Christopher Thomas

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