Taxi-man charged for sex with minor

A taxi operator who is just over 30 years old has been arrested and charged with unlawful sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of consent (16 years), BVI News Online has confirmed.

Details of the case are expected to be outlined when the accused appears in the Magistrate’s Court.

Until then, his name is being withheld. The court, on many occasions, usually orders journalists not to publish the names of the accused in sex cases – sometimes to protect the identity of the victim.

The taxi operator, who is a BVIslander, was arrested on the weekend (November 4).

He is at least the third person charged since the start of the year with offences of the sort involving minors.

Last month, police arrested and charged a 46-year-old man, who is accused of having sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of 16 at his home and at his workplace some time between 2013 and 2014. The man already appeared before the Magistrate’s Court and was remanded in custody. He is said to be a flight risk.

Also, police last month arrested and charged a 49-year-old man from the eastern end of Tortola on allegations that he indecently touched his daughter. The accused, who is a native of St Vincent and the Grenadines, is charged with one count of indecent assault.