Man freed of sex charges as daughter refuses to testify

A 35-YEAR-OLD Barrackpore man, who was charged with two counts of having sex with his teenaged daughter, walked free yesterday after the victim refused to testify against him in the High Court. On the commencement of the trial in the San Fernando First Criminal Assizes, the girl told Justice Melville Baird she did not wish to give evidence against her father. The girl, now 17 years old, told the court she believed he had spent enough time in jail, with the accused incarcerated for nearly 26 months having been arrested shortly after the alleged incident. The prosecution, which was led by State attorney Nalini Singh, was therefore  unable to offer evidence in the case against the accused and as a result the State could not proceed further with the matter.