Handasyde Ellington, a 25-year-old soldier of the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF), was freed of carnal abuse charges in the St. Catherine Circuit Court yesterday, after the jury returned a not-guilty verdict.

Ellington had been charged after his fiance reported to the police that her teenage daughter was assaulted by Ellington during a visit to the family house in Portmore in June of last year.

The military man was taken into custody by the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse and charged with carnal abuse. The defence had maintained Ellington's innocence throughout the case.

Character witnesses

His claims were corroborated by two officers from the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) who acted as character witnesses, and pointed out that Ellington was elsewhere when the alleged offence took place.

The jury retired for less than an hour before returning with the formal verdict.