Curepe man jailed for son’s fake kidnap

A Tunapuna magistrate was yesterday “very disturbed” to hear the facts of a fake kidnapping charge that was before her in court. Magistrate Gloria Jasmath, who sat in the Tunapuna Second Court, yesterday sentenced a Curepe man to 12 months hard labour after he pleaded guilty to faking his son’s kidnapping. The court heard that Neil Fredericks of Agostini Road, Curepe, picked up his seven-year-old son from a primary school in the district on Tuesday, and dropped the child off at the home of a friend in Tacarigua. The police report stated that Fredericks then went to the St Joseph Police Station and reported that his child had been kidnapped and that he also received an anonymous phone call from a male person demanding $11,000.

After several inconsistencies were noted in Fredericks’ story, police got the accused to admit that he lied about his son’s kidnapping. Fredericks reportedly told the officers that he needed the money to pay off someone whom he owed. Speaking on his client’s behalf, attorney Nath Sharma asked the magistrate for leniency, stating that Fredericks was the father of three children and had no previous convictions. The attorney could give no reasonable explanation as to why his client would fake his son’s kidnapping, but insisted that his client was ashamed for his actions and was very cooperative with the police.

After the attorney’s submission,  Jasmath looked directly at the accused and told him of how concerned she was by the incident. “I am very disturbed this morning. This is unbelievable! This thing (kidnapping) is so prevalent in our society these days and here you go using your child. Is this what it has come to? We are using our children as part of this thing? I take this very seriously,” Jasmath said to the accused. “I have to make an example of you so that this type of thing does not happen again,” Jasmath ended. Jasmath announced a 12-month prison term for the accused. Fredericks was taken away by court police officers while relatives immediately left the courtroom.