Belmont man charged for sex assault

Gerard Murell, 43, of Belmont was charged for committing an indecent act against a minor when he appeared before Magistrate Debbie Ann Bassaw in the Seventh Court. The charge alleges that on November 5, Murell assaulted the child.

When the matter was first called at 9.53 am, the magistrate read the charge to Murell who was not called upon to plead, nor did he have an attorney present. Bassaw then requested whether any tracing had been done on the defendant before bail could be considered.

Bassaw opted to stand the matter down until 1 pm at which time the trace was completed. When the matter was called the second time, the magistrate informed Murell that he “had a clean record”.

With no objection to bail from the court prosecutor, Bassaw reminded Murell of his legal right to counsel and urged him not to breach the conditions of bail which included no contact with the complainant including telephone calls and text messaging. Acting Corporal Maynard of the Barataria CID laid the charge.