Stalker found guilty of rape
(CNS): A man who systematically stalked, harassed, abused and sexually assaulted his former lover was found guilty of rape, assault and abduction by the chief justice Monday. Philip Rose wasconvictedof the crimes following a judge alone trial in which the court heard how he had emotionally and physically abused his victim over a two and half year period after she broke off their relationship. Rose had denied the offences, accusing his victim of being an abusive, jealous and controlling woman who had contrived the allegations against him after he had rejected her. However, as a result of telephone messages, texts and emails that his victim had kept over the period of abuse, along with other evidence, the judge took a different view.
Chief Justice Anthony Smellie presided over the trial of the George Town man in November when, over three days of evidence, the victim, a former executive of the Cayman Islands branch of a major bank, recounted a harrowing ordeal of abuse in which she became trapped through fear and embarrassment.
She described being stalked “every minute of the day”, with Rose being “always just 10 metres away” controlling her entire life through fear and intimidaiton. He followed her to and from work and whenever she went out; he repeatedly turned up and knocked on the window of her apartment; he constantly called and texted her cell phones and her office line, making abusive threats. He also physically assaulted her and raped her on some six occasions.
The victim had made some attempts to contact the police during her ordeal but had failed to follow through with the reports as a result of a number of what the judge described as complex issues and because of fear of her abuser.
She had, however, reported the rape and abuse to a local counsellor and had seen a doctor after two physically violent assaults that Rose had committed against her, long before she eventually transferred to Canada and filed her complaint against him.
As well as taking pictures of her injuries received at the hands of Rose, the victim had also saved a significant number of the phone messages, texts and emails that Rose had made and sent to her from when the abuse and stalking first started after she broke up with him to when she had moved to Toronto.
It was these messages that the judge said painted a very different scenario from the one claimed by the defendant that he was the victim of a jealous, scorned woman’s false allegations. The telephone messages were exceptionally abusive and aggressive, littered with expletives and profanities as well as frightening threats. The judge said the messages were threatening and violent and illustrative of the state of mind of the defendant.
In his verdict, in which he found Rose guilty of six counts of rape, two of assault causing actual bodily harm and one of abduction, the judge said that despite some behaviour on the part of the victim that may seem hard to understand, he was satisfied she was telling the truth about her ordeal and in particular the specific counts on the indictment.
He said the aggressive and abusive telephone messages revealed an “obsessive, controlling and arrogant man who refused to accept he had been rejected.” The nature of the messages made it clear that they were not empty threats, as claimed by the defendant, but evidence of the abuse.
The judge found that the victim had not contrived the allegations after the event, in part because he said the messages began at the point when the victim claimed she had ended the relationship.
The victim had admitted to having a consensual affair with Rose when she was going through a difficult period in her own marriage. She had met him in a West Bay Road bar in 2006, where she had given him her number, and soon after they developed a largely sexual relationship that lasted for around five months before she discovered that Rose, who was also married and claiming to be going through a divorce, had many other lovers.
She told the court that on the day the victim broke off the relationship he changed and become aggressive, abusive and threatening. He told her thatshe belonged to him and he would never let her go.
For more than two years he was true to that threat and it was not until he abducted her and kept her captive in her own home for more than two days abusing, assaulting and raping her whilst she suffered from a concussion that she finally confided in her boss at the bank and systematically began to plan her escape and formally reported the crimes to the police.
The judge noted that the victim’s trust in the police had been undermined at the very start as she said a complaint she filed was lost. Later, with what he described as "the lackadaisical" efforts by the Family Support Unit, the records of her complaints there were also lost. The victim was put off too by the dismissive manner in which she claimed she was treated when she had first approached the police to make a report.
The victim finally broke through her silence, which was caused by a combination of fear for her safety, fear over losing her career, of him interfering with her immigration status, public exposure and embarrassment, as well of a feeling that she had caused the problem. Fearing that he really would kill her the next time, she revealed her ordeal.
When she made her escape to Canada, the messages from Rose were even more aggressive and threatening, despite claiming that he was the one who had by that time broken off what he claimed to be a continuously consensual relationship. When he finally realised that she was following through with the report and revealing her ordeal to the authorities, Rose left the Cayman Island for Panama where he was arrested in February of this year.
During the trial the victim admitted going along with Rose on occasions when he demanded and letting him into her apartment, where she had given reluctant consent to sex as she said sometimes it was just easier to give in because of the relentless harassment and a way to gain some piece of mind.
“I was embarrassed and I was scared and I did not know where to turn,” the victim had revealed in her evidence, adding that she really believed Rose’s threats that he would kill her or her husband.
In his verdict, which took three hours to deliver, the judge noted that consent when given as a result of force fear and intimidation was not consent.
Prior to the trial Rose had pleaded guilty to one of the counts against him, which was for abusing the complainant via an IT network in connection with the texts, emails and phone messages he sent.
Category: Crime
I was a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of my Caymanian husband during our 8 year marriage. I reported many incidents to the police who turned me over to the Family Support Unit. Why, when the police came to my house and saw me with a bloody lip and nose and face, did they NOT arrest my husband for the abuse? They said instead that I had to go to the station and make a formal statement. No matter WHAT kinds of new laws they enact here in Cayman, domestic violence incidents will NEVER be taken seriously by the RCIPS. The victims are not taken seriously. The victims have NO rights. Why was this man allowed to remain at large after the violence he inflicted upon me. Yes, I have divorced him and unfortunately because of the laws here in Cayman he can continue to harass me daily by text messaging and phone messages, and in order for me to have this stopped I have to continuously go to the Family Suport Unit and make copies of the texts and messages etc. THIS is why domestic violence is allowed to continue because the perpetrators dont even get a slap on the hand and the victims are treated like crap by every single RCIPS I have ever met. I am a victim. Luckily I got divorced and am still alive. But I will always fear for my 2 children's and my safety. Sadly enough….
I don't want to cast blame on you or on your husband, because I don't know the full story. But if your incident occurred before 2004, then at that time, certain domestic violence policies were not implemented like the policy of arresting a spouse no matter what once there is detection of domestic violence. Now I know that it is mandatory thing that an officer must arrest once he detects a crime. But I know when officers arrive at a scene they have to assess the domestic situation, and if both parties are in a fray, the worse thing they can do is take sides. They have to work on separating both parties in order to resolve the situation. At times, women are guilty of starting violence in the home – not the man, and the man receives injuries as well. Some women demand respect and that men should not hit at them (a cultural thing), but once they hit just as hard like the man and fight just as worse, officers have to manhandle them and slap cuffs on them. Sometimes the man has no other option but to strike back when a woman hits him, because some women fight like men. Not all women are soft and easy going. And in the end, it is the man who gets into worse trouble with the law than the woman. When officers arrive at a scene, they can make the decision of arresting both parties. But you mentioned that you have children. I know women who use children as pawns to get back at their estrange husbands. The decision of making an arrest is to be carefully weighed by the officers. You can not just command an officer to arrest somebody in a domestic situation. "Arrest him!" and he must comply! That is not how it works. Before detecting an offense in a domestic situation, the officer must see if the complainant is a credible complainant with no ulterior motives. Is the complainant making a false complaint? Is the complainant making a frivolous complaint? Is the complainant making a report to assist in divorce proceedings? Is the complainant making a report to assist in immigration action against the accused? Is the complainant lying to police and has self-inflicted injuries? Did the complainant started the brawl? Police officers just can't go into a scene whilst everything is over and make an arrest. There has to be a preliminary investigation. If the officer suspects by reasonable suspcion that an offense has been committed he may arrest a party. Again, I am not blaming you and pointing the finger at you, but no matter your injury, from reading your comment, I just can't fathom police officers, having evidence of assault or ABH and not arresting anyone. There must have been more to the story that you are not mentioning here, because you had children and that even complicated the incident.
My faith in the courts has increased slightly with the verdict Mr. Chief Justice.
The article however once again also reinforces my strong belief that there is widespread racial discrimination and prejudice within this community including people in officialdom.
The convicted man is from a well known local family and the victim apparantly is a foreigner from Canada.
The reported lackadasical and dismissive attitude by the authorities and multiple loss of files and reports to multiple government agencies speaks volumes.
Unfortunately these types of bias behavior and attitude is becoming more prevalent everyday.
What we need to get up to speed on immediately, is the fact that official corruption is not just taking financial bribes. The more systemic and widespread form of corruption is much harder to detect, and i beleive is much like the one this case suggests.
We need to find more proactive ways of exposing wrongdoing and discrimination especially when being done by people abusing their authority. People fear recrimination and are reluctant to report abuses.
Maybe u could start a special dedicated Forum on your website where people could post experiences in a general way (without calling names or specifics) where it could help us as a community and public/private sector agencies better understand by bringing out into the open what is happening and to focus on this spreading cancer.
CNS: You can start any topic you like on the CNS Public Forum, and there are links to the most recent topics on the left hand side column.
This is sad. Why are there some men that feel that women are their property? When she says it is over, it is over. You don't own her and even though she had a consensual relationship with him earlier, she is allowed to change her mind and say "I no longer want to be in that relationship."
I feel bad for a lot of the expatriates, men and women, (I have been privy to a lot of horror stories) because a lot of them come here for a better life and they sometimes get involved in relationships which turn out to be the wrong person and if that person is Caymanian, the first thing they threaten them with is their "work permit status". I would like to believe that the Immigration Department is not getting involved in these domestic situations and not booting people off the island because of a scorned Caymanian lover.
I am glad that she was smart enough to keep the phone messages, texts and emails otherwise it would have been "he said-she said" scenario and with our "competent police" managing to lose the original complaints, this woman would not have received the justice she deserved.
The Judge was so correct in his comment about the Family Support Unit, there was an incident where a young woman reported repeated unwanted attention from a man and the officer had the audacity to ask the woman if she was sure she hadn't done anything to lead the man on and that she should be flattered that he was so smitten with her! Would you feel confident to report anything to them after being handled in that way?
ask a local lawyer (you know which one) why women are considered property
Why you ask? Because the court agrees, women are the sacred vessels of men.
LOL! I think he was referring to wives when he made that statement but I take your point.
While I am happy the jerk got his comeuppance the woman in this case had to go to extreme measures in order to facilitate a conviction that likely would have never materialized otherwise. I feel for her and admire her strength and conviction to press forward despite having the odds stacked against her in this community. Our personal experience has also been that the RCIP are utterly useless when having to deal with crimes against women – where they have also lost evidence in our case, and handled the victim with indifference and a lack of compassion having them left feeling as though they are wasting the time of the RCIP with their little girly issue. Does it have something to do with culture? Maybe it does, but whatever the reason this country is in the stone ages when it comes to supporting women's rights and convicting those who cause them harm.
How can the men of the RCIPS take a woman reporting abuse seriously or support her when so many of them themselves are guilty of the same behaviour!!
Is he the same Philip Rose suspected in a murder 17years ago?
it sure is.
instead of courthouse pic can we see a picture of the guilty man ? and whats the sentence ?
10 -20 years i hope. Not !
There is absolutely need to wonder folks about the lack of effort by the RCIPS, just take a look who is incharge of the RCIPS and if you want to get straight to the point the jurisdiction they come from do not have a good track record in dealing with these type domestic or personal matters so therfore those "tings' are not seen as crime or criminal in nature "a girl friend and boy friend problem" That of course changes when someone gets murdered and even then it just work to some. What is Cayman coming .
What does the Caymanian police dept, Caymanian immigration dept., Caymanian planning dept., Caymanian financial dept., and all the other inept, incompetent, nonperforming and expensive island service(pun inteneted) departments have in common? To make it easier what do other countries who have working, competent, and reliable service deptartments not have that Cayman has? Cayman can not fix this problem. It is and always will be Caymankind. In Cayman you all need to watch out for yourself. Especially from the very ones who in other countries are there to help you.
RE: lost records by the RCIPS.
This is really, really bothersome when you add it to a lost gun, lost K9 (that was killed by a car), etc. Who knows what else has been lost that we simply don't know about yet.
Just as with Immigration. Was the file lost by incompetence or intent? Its a question so often repeated in Cayman.
I hear this happening in renown local establishments. Marriages breaking up and managers, bosses, or employers involved. To young ladies, they promise financial gain, position, and recognition. Some of these men are senior citizens, been here for a long time, and have became successful in the financial industry. Many of them are married and have children already. Sadly, I have heard of this going on in the education side for grades as well, and I am talking about the college level. I will not disclose any names, but I beleive something has to be done. And yes you have women guilty of this as well, using men to get ahead. This is the society we have today, and as parents we have to educate our children about selling themselves over to other people. A job shouldn't be seen as your life. It is a part of your life, but it is not your human dignity, your principles, your conscience.
I think you read something incorrectly. Nothing like that happened in this case. She was the bank Executive, not him. She wasn't using him for financial gain or to get ahead in her career. She wasn't promised anything in return for sleeping with him. She was already well established. Read the article again.
The commenter went from a man sexually harassing a woman to people using people. I think it all falls under the same thing. I can read the article, but I understand the commenter. We have an vast moral problem in Cayman. Sexual exploitation is being swept under the rug.
It is time as a people we take a united stand against domestic violence against women of any sort. Our men have to understand that our ladies are not their property and cannot be misused and abused because they feel like it.
There is absolutely no excuse or reason for any man to behave in this manner. Whatever, insecurities, self esteem or controlling issues they have, it is not an excuse.
So to the men that are reading this that have been an abuser or is an abuser, You need to STOP immediately your abusive behavior and seek professional help. To the ladies that are been abused we want to help and support you, but you need to inform someone, and get the necessary help.
Let us make Stopping Violence against Women a top priority this coming year.
By the way this is a male writing this and I am very involve on a professional and personal level in stopping any sort of Violence and abuse against women & children.
God Bless all and have a wonderful Christmas.
What stuck out to me when I read this is that the victim apparently had not faith in the police and judicial system. I don't blame her one bit!
I hope this is used as an example so that everyone who works in the RCIP can learn what consequences something can have for their often casual approach towards complaints being filed!
Its time for a big shake up in all departments who deal with victims of any crime. Time to hire compassionate, caring, intelligent people who can empathise with victims and help them get through these terrible stituations and get rid of those with "couldn't care less" attitudes. Its hard to imagine what people go through in these situations but even if you don't know, you can imagine and if you can't sympathise with them and help them all you can to get justice, then you should not be in such postiions.
So when is he to be sentenced?
How many years 6 counts of rape is a life sentence
abduction is kidnapping, another life sentence
TWO LIFE SENTENCES!
Unfortunately you and I and the rest of the Cayman public will be feeding and clothing and housing the moron.
Well done to the young lady for having the courage to do what was right in spite of many difficult circumstances and hopefully stopping this monster from doing the same to everyone else. Hope she gets all the counselling she needs to put this terrible ordeal behind her.
Here we are again describing the all too familar RCIPS and their top notch investigators a far cry fom epic tale of the firearm investigation illegal connection case. It so funny everytime the RCIPS tries pump up themselves the hot air keeps leaking out somewhere else. The sad part they were told and warn so many times about current leadership ineptness and incompetence it has becoming a running joke with the public who confidence has been total eroded. Yet we see no changes to leadership, only more money more equipment more benefits to cover up these seroius problems that exist. Had this victim not move off island she could have been murdered We all know what the outcome of that would be? Those high officials incharge of the RCIPS need to be held responsible as they a just as culpable for this terrible situation that Cayman residents face. I can assure you one thing they are well protected.
This reaffirms the fact that every 'rose' comes with one or more thorns…
But as we know Cayman Courts… let's hope that his sentence is just and sends a message to all abusers, instead of the normal slap on the wrist.
What a horrendous ordeal!! And the reaction of our authorities is disgusting.
'The judge noted that the victim’s trust in the police had been undermined at the very start as she said a complaint she filed was lost. Later, with what he described as "thelackadaisical" efforts by the Family Support Unit, the records of her complaints there were also lost. The victim was put off too by the dismissive manner in which she claimed she was treated when she had first approached the police to make a report."
Commissioner Baines, would looove to hear your speech from the courtroom steps about justice being undermined
Thank God!!!!
Nail him up I say
Now lets see how much time you get be-atch!! I hope its about 20 years.
This jerk should be hung by his balls in the center of town.
Your comment is just as violent as his acts
What goes around comes around perhaps. And perhaps if we treated convicted rapists like that, we'd have no more rapists, because prison certainly doesn't seem to be an effective deterrent.