A close friend of the woman who has accused government MP Neil Rowe of rape testified in the No. 5 Supreme Court on Friday that she messaged him the morning of the alleged incident to say she had reached home safely from the party they attended — but made no mention of the assault.
Ron Griffith, the work colleague who had driven the complainant to the fete that began on the night of September 17, 2022 and went into the early morning of the following day, was testifying for the State in the trial of the former Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly and Member of Parliament for St Michael North West.
He said he and the complainant, who often partied together, had agreed beforehand that he would pick her up from her home and take her to the event at Highgate, a popular party venue in Dash Valley, St George.
Griffith said that it was only “a couple days later” that his friend told him she had been sexually assaulted by Rowe after she left the fete.
Earlier in his testimony, the witness told Justice Pamela Beckles and a nine-member jury that around 3:30 a.m., when he was ready to leave the party, the complainant told him she would be getting a ride with someone else. She pointed out Rowe as the person, but he said he did not know who he was.
When asked by Principal State Counsel Olivia Davis if he was concerned that she was leaving with someone he didn’t know, the witness said he wasn’t, explaining that it was “somebody she trusted”.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Safiya Moore asked Griffith how he felt about his friend leaving with someone else instead of the person who had brought her. He responded that it didn’t matter to him, as long as she was comfortable with the arrangement.
Griffith recalled that the complainant explained she chose to leave with Rowe because it was more convenient—he lived in the same general direction as her. He added that it would have taken about seven minutes to get to her home but he lived in the “opposite direction”.
The defence attorney also questioned Griffith about the complainant’s alcohol consumption at the event. He testified that she did drink that night, as she normally would when they went out together. However, Griffith said, she was not stumbling, neither was her speech slurred. “She seemed normal,” he added.
Minister of Home Affairs and Information Wilfred Abrahams also took the witness stand. Abrahams testified that he had bought 20 tickets for him and other persons to attend the party on September 17, 2022.
The MP said that when he arrived at the fete around 11:30 p.m., he saw the complainant there.
He said he was sitting at a table with a group of people when the complainant later joined them. Abrahams recalled going to the bar and seeing Rowe, who eventually came over to the table as well. He said that at one point, he went to use the toilet, and both the accused and the complainant also went. When he came out, he saw the two of them talking and he left them standing outside the toilet.
Abrahams informed the High Court that before leaving the party around 2 a.m., he asked the complainant how she was getting home, and she replied that she was “good”.
He said that a few days later, she told him Rowe had sexually assaulted her.
A long-time friend of the complainant, dating back to their secondary school days, also testified that she told him Rowe had assaulted her after the party.
The trial was adjourned until Monday morning.
The accused is being represented by lead attorney Michael Lashley, KC, along with Safiya Moore, Sade Harris, and Johnelle King.
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