Senior public officer Lawrence Bell is a free man today but with some stiff bail conditions to obey.
Bell was granted bail Thursday in St George’s after spending three nights as a remand prisoner at the Richmond Hill Prison.
He faces eighteen counts of child sexual abuse charges ranging from incest to sexual abuse of a minor and Chief Magistrate Teddy St Louis set a bail amount of $150, 000, one of the highest for charges of that nature.
In addressing the Court on his decision, the Chief Magistrate said he had to balance public interests against Bell’s rights.
Other bail conditions are that he does not interfere with witnesses in the case either directly or through any third party.
Bell, a State Pharmacy Supervisor in the Ministry of Health was also ordered to surrender all travel documents and is required to report at the St David Police Station once a week for the duration of the Preliminary Inquiry in the Magistrate’s Court.
A change of residence was not included in the bail conditions – Bell’s legal representative Anslem Clouden said this was not necessary since the child has been moved out of the area and is in the charge of Child Protection Officers.
Bell was able to meet the bail conditions on Thursday and left in the company of fellow Pharmacist, Cedric Mitchell.
The story of the alleged molestation rocked the nation and raised public anger when media outlets began reporting on the alleged abuse which the police said dates back to 2009 when the virtual complainant was just five years old.
When Bell appeared at the No.1 St. George’s Magistrate’s Court on Monday he was not granted bail as prosecutors on the case had asked for the bail hearing to take place in St David, the jurisdiction where the abuse is believed to have happened.
However on Thursday the matter had to be returned to St George’s jurisdiction because the St David Court was not gazetted to sit on a day other than what is currently designated – Monday and Friday – and that court is also currently on vacation.
His Attorney said this is another example of prosecutorial unpreparedness.
On Monday, Clouden had complained of unpreparedness by the prosecution, saying that they had not provided disclosure and did not have certain important facts of the case available for the Magistrate.
The matter will ultimately be tried in the criminal assizes if the Magistrate Court rules that there is sufficient evidence against Bell.
During the High Court Assizes this year, 204 cases of sexual assault against minors were listed for trial.
Bell’s arrest last weekend came just days after Grenada’s Ministry of Legal Affairs began public consultations on a draft Bill that could allow for a sex offenders register and other sanctions against individuals convicted of sex crimes.
Correction: An earlier version of the story incorrectly stated that Bell left the court in the company of Cecil Mitchell. Bell left the court with Cedric Mitchell. We apologise to Cecil Mitchell for any inconvenience caused to him.