46-year-old Robert Goff charged with aggravated assault of a teenaged girl appeared in Magistrate's Court today hoping his case would have some resolution after he's been remanded at the Hattieville Prison for the past 11 months where he's endured 11 adjournments. But, he was out of luck, because the matter was adjourned a 12th time, this one until April 11th. The case prosecutor told the court that the file had not been returned from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Chief Magistrate Herbert Lord told the court that he was tempted to throw the case out, but because the allegations involved a 13-year-old girl, he would hold on for a final adjournment. He noted that there is a problem in which persons who are presumed to be innocent are locked up for a prolonged time merely because the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions is too slow in returning case files. He referred to a case in which a man who was charged with murder has been remanded for the past 2 years without going to trial.
