BY JENNIFER KUSAPA
PUBLIC Prosecution has applied for a warrant of arrest on the 28-year-old male from Western Province charged with counts of rape, common assault and false pretence for not attending his court hearing yesterday.
Jareth Sialo was released on bail previously and was supposed to appear in court on May 18, 2022, but when his name was called out within the court premises he was nowhere to be seen.
Bobby Harunari of the Public Solicitor’s Office informed the court that his client was sick and would not be available in court, but the presiding Magistrate Leonard Chite issued the warrant instead.
Public Prosecutor Jonathan Auga told the court yesterday that prosecution will make an application to revoke the bail as they have received complaints from some complainants regarding the accused.
Auga said that since the accused is faced with a rape charge, they are going to commit the file to the High Court for hearing.
Meanwhile regarding the additional charge, police are yet to interview the accused and prosecution is seeking seven days to allow police investigators to complete the interview before additional charge is filed to the court.
Sialo is charged in relation to the incidents which occurred in 2021 and 2022, the first allegation was an incident of rape that occurred in October 2021.
Prosecution said on October 15, 2021, the accused was driving a caldina car along the Point Cruz Road when the victim walked home from work.
Prosecution said the accused was in front of the old ANZ building at Point Cruz, when he saw the victim walked past and he stopped by her side in a black caldina car, he lowered the left window screen of the front left door of his car and asked the victim if she was heading to the market. The victim replied the accused that she is heading that way.
The accused allegedly invited the victim into the front seat of his car but instead the victim got into and sat at the back seat.
The victim did not know the defendant therefore felt strange when in encounter with him. Inside the cab, the victim asked the defendant if he knew her and he replied yes, he knew her.
The victim told him that she did not even know him. The defendant told the victim that she lived at Vura 3 which was right. The defendant drove off then.
The defendant told the victim that his name was Shane.
At the market bus stop, the victim was about to get out of the car and there the defendant asked for her mobile contact. The victim gave him her mobile phone number and the defendant made a missed call to her cell phone.
On the 18th October 2021, between 1700 hours and 1900 hours, the defendant known to the victim as Shane contacted her and asked of her whereabouts.
The victim told him that she was on her way from the office to the Main Market bus stop. Not long, the defendant reached her and picked her up again in his car. Both travelled up easterly direction.
On reaching the SDA Bus Stop at Kukum area, the victim informed the defendant that she will bedropped off there.
The defendant refused and insisted that they both continued up to Panatina Plaza.
So, he continued driving up to Panatina Plaza and stopped besides the fence of the Kausimae Building.
There he told the victim that he was a doctor at the National Referral Hospital, working at the Theatre Operation Department and then he moved over to the back seat where the victim was sitting.
He pulled the victim’s underwear. The victim refused and resisted but the defendant kept on forcing himself to have sex with her.
The second incident is a false pretence incident that occurred on the night of February 7 2022, the defendant pulled over along the road side at Lunga and forced the complainant and her sister to board the car for a ride.
On the way, the defendant started to introduce himself and claimed that he is one of the WICKHAM’s family and his name is “Shane WICKHAM”, 23 years of age and he is the youngest officer at Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) in Honiara.
He also claimed to have resided at the Prime Minister’s area at GBR and claimed to be part PNG and also told the complainant and her sister that his mother sent him some money through Western Union (WU) for him to rent a room at AJ City Mall.
This is where he will operate a Phone shop and owns a RAV-4, Caldina and a short boot car.
The complainant then was about to drop off at Kukum, the accused asked for their contacts, the complainant’s sister then gave her number to him.
Later that day, the complainant’s sister received a call from the defendant identified himself as Shane WICKHAM.
He asked them if they can help him with an amount of $1000.00, he already had $3000.00 with him.
He claimed that he was running out of cash to pay the charges of his container at the Solomon Islands Ports Authority because if he is late to pay, extra fee charges will be charged to his container, he promised them that he will refund their money.
The defendant’s false statements convinced the complainant to believe that he is telling the truth and she gave him $1000.00 to him in front of Jasmin shop along Vura Road in Honiara.
On the next day, the defendant then called the complainant and his sister and asked them again if they could help him with another $500.00.
They started to doubt the defendant’s credibility whether or not he was telling them the truth and they decided to give him only $100.00. He drove to the same location and collected the money.
The third incident occurred on February 11 2022 between 2 to 3pm, the defendant contacted the complainant’s mobile phone and introduced himself as Lawyer- Willie.
The complainant on this matter is a Correctional officer,
The allegation said that the accused called her if she could give him of $1000.00 so that he could pay for his container charges and will present a new brand-mobile phone to her in return, the complainant told him that she did not have such amount but only got $500.00.
Not long after the phone conversation, the defendant arrived to the complainant at Rove Correctional Center Headquarters, picked the complainant and heading up to SIEA office at Ranadi where the complainant took an amount of $500.00 and gave it to him.
Three days later as promised by the defendant that he will be refunding the complainant’s money.
She contacted him and asked for her refunds but the defendant started to make some excuses. She kept on contacting his mobile phone but he ignored to answer her calls and avoid himself from the complainant.
Bobby Harunari of the Public Solicitor’s represents the accused in court.
