No bail for Trini kidnap suspect

A 41-year-old Trinidadian operating as a “PH” driver in Tobago, was denied bail when he appeared in the Scarborugh Magistrates’ Court Thursday charged with kidnapping a 14-year-old school girl. Alston Charles, who gave his address as Harding Place, Cocorite, and Sunshine Avenue, San Juan, among several other addresses, is charged with kidnapping the secondary school student, of All Fields Trace, Lowlands, on March 4. He was charged by WPC Alicia Piggott, of Old Grange Police.

The victim, who was not in school uniform, was reportedly on her way to the gym when the incident allegedly occurred. It is alleged that the victim boarded a car at All Field’s Trace along the Claude Noel Highway to go to Scarborough. After diverting to Signal Hill, where an occupant of the vehicle disembarked, the driver is said to have proceeded to a lonely area at Orange Hill despite the protests of the victim who reportedly asked that the vehicle be stopped to allow her to get off. The doors of the vehicle were said to have been locked. The victim reportedly escaped following a struggle. The accused is to reappear in court on March 18.