Barbara Gayle, Staff ReporterTHOMAS LEVENE, clerk of courts at the Corporate Area Criminal Court in Half-Way Tree, filed a writ in the Supreme Court on Wednesday against Nordine Pennant, a paralegal clerk in the courts office at Half-Way Tree, and Detective Corporal Kirk Roache, alleging malicious prosecution.
The suit arose from an indecent assault charge preferred against Levene by Pennant. Mr. Levene was freed of the charge Wednesday after Resident Magistrate Owen Parkin upheld a no-case submission made by Levene's attorneys-at-law Patrick Bailey, Ravil Golding and Carolyn Reid.
The lawyers argued that, under cross-examination, two of the witnesses called by the Crown said they had not witnessed Levene assaulting the complainant.
The lawyers said the difference in the evidence given by Pennant and the other two prosecution witnesses could not be resolved. Resident Magistrate Parkin upheld their submission and freed Levene.
Mr. Levene contends in the lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court that on September 6, Ms. Pennant falsely or maliciously reported to the police that he had indecently assaulted her on May 11 at the Half-Way Tree Courthouse in the presence of another clerk of the courts and paralegal clerks.
Levene contends further that Detective Corporal Roache, a friend of Pennant, and who is from a police division different from the one in which the crime was alleged to have been committed, interviewed several persons who Pennant said were present and witnessed the incident.
But despite their denial, he went ahead and without reasonable and probable cause, charged Levene without referring the matter to the director of public prosecutions for his ruling.
Levene contends further that on November 11, while he was prosecuting cases as clerk of courts at Half-Way Tree, Detective Corporal Roache called him outside the courtroom, and in the presence of accused persons, witnesses and members of the public, served him a summons to attend court on the indecent assault charge.
