It was probably his small stature and childlike features that prompted Magistrate Douglas Frederick to ask him his age and what he was doing inside a dock.
Frederick was at the time speaking to Giovani Armani Prescod in the District ‘A’ Magistrates Court.
Prescod, of #16 Birch Path, Regents Hill, Pinelands, St Michael, appeared in court today charged with committing serious indecency against a female between January 1, 2014 and April 12, 2015.
“What are you doing here?” the magistrate asked the accused as he stepped into the dock. “At 16 you should be at school. You’re still at school?”
The youngster replied that he had finished school already.
“Seriously? Finished school already . . . at 16? But you’re going to skills training or somewhere though?”
Prescod explained that he is “in a family club”. Even though he did not know the name of the persons who run it, he said he does a variety of subjects every Saturday from 10 until noon.
“Well at 16 you should be in school,” the magistrate again suggested, and “I hope somebody sees to it.”
Prescod returns to court on March 29, 2016.