The attorney for a teacher against whom two charges were withdrawn on Thursday says the charges were intended to embarrass her client.
Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Colin Williams on Thursday discontinued the charges against Secondary school teacher Jozette Bibby-Bowen who had been arrested on March 2 and charged in connection with posts she allegedly made on the social networking website, Facebook.
The 37-year-old teacher was arrested at Bishop’s College Kingstown, where she teaches information technology, electronic document preparation and management and accounting.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges when she appeared in court.
The DPP did not give any reasons for discontinuing the case, but attorney Kay Bacchus-Browne, one of the lawyers representing Bibby-Bowen, said the state had no reason to arrest or prosecute their client.
“They Nolle prosequi it yesterday. No reason was given, but I suspect the reason is that they simply have no evidence at all, which is what we said from the beginning,” Bacchus-Browne said.
“They have put her through much embarrassment, loss of income. They have had her arrested, which now amounts to false arrest, false imprisonment and now they just withdraw without giving any reason at all,” Bacchus-Browne said.
Bibby-Bowen has been suspended from the classroom and placed on half salary pending the outcome of the case. She was also restricted from leaving St Vincent and the Grenadines without the permission of the Public Service Commission.
Bacchus-Browne said that while the DPP doesn’t have to give a reason for discontinuing the case, “it doesn’t reflect good at all.
“And, obviously, my client is very upset about the whole turn of events,” she said.
Asked if her client would be seeking restitution, Bacchus-Browne said, “we are going to discuss the way forward. We are definitely going to discuss the way forward. I think it is an egregious thing because we said from day one there was no evidence.”
