Fire damages home of man charged with rape

(CNS): The West Bay property in which a man accused of raping an underage girl was believed to be living has been damaged by fire. Tyrone Roswell Ebanks appeared in court on New Year’s Eve charged with the rape of a sixteen-year-girl, who police said was grabbed from her bicycle as she rode along Powell Smith Drive in West Bay at 6pm in the evening of Monday, 27 December. Ebanks is said to have dragged the teenager into a nearby house, where he raped her. While Ebanks remained in police custody on New Year’s Day, a fire was reported at the property where he is said to have lived but police have stated that there was nothing to indicate the fire was set deliberately. (Photo Dennie Warren Jr)

Following information revealed to CNS that the New Year’s Day fire was at Ebanks’ West Bay home, CNS asked the RCIPS for details on the blaze. A police spokesperson confirmed that a property had been partly destroyed by fire in West Bay during the early hours of 1 January.

“Around 2:05am on Saturday, police and fire services attended a report of a fire at a house in the West Bay area,” the RCIPS spokesperson said. “As with any damage caused by fire reported to the Police/Fire Department a full investigation will be undertaken. At this stage of the investigation, there’s nothing to suggest or indicate ‘suspicion’ that the fire was deliberately set. The fire related to a portion of a house occupied by a person that was absent from the premises when the report was made.”

Ebanks (44), who was arrested on the same night as the attack, was charged with rape and defilement of the teenager.