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Woman ordered to attend court hearing

A woman who alleged she was assaulted by a lawyer was yesterday ordered to attend a court hearing after she failed to appear for his trial twice.

Senior magistrate Juan Wolffe added that he was concerned that Chavelle Dillon, 26, might still live with defendant Kamal Worrell, 39, despite bail conditions that banned contact between the two.

He said: “I’m actually quite surprised the Crown have not taken this matter further to bring Mr Worrell back to court for a breach of his bail.

“The fact that the defendant, a member of the Bar who appears in these courts on a regular basis, would potentially be breaching his bail conditions is something which the Bermuda Bar Association should be very concerned about.”

Mr Wolffe added: “Whether you’re a magistrate, a prosecutor, or a defence counsel, you should be treated the same. None of us are above the law.”

He was speaking as Ms Dillon appeared in Magistrates’ Court and admitted contempt of court after she did not appear for the trial of Mr Worrell, which had been due to start on Monday.

The trial was scheduled to start this Monday, but the case was adjourned until this morning.

Ms Dillon also missed a trial date on February 6.

Vaughan Caines, who appeared for Ms Dillon, said she did not attend the latest trial because of a “depressive funk”.

He explained that Ms Dillon had planned to go overseas on March 2, but was told on February 20 that she had been ordered to appear in court on the day of travel.

Mr Caines added she did not go abroad, but did not attend the hearing because she had to look after her young son and thought he could not be taken into court.

Mr Wolffe heard that Ms Dillon had been traced to the Royal Bermuda Regiment’s Recruit Camp and was brought to court last Friday.

Mr Wolffe said that Ms Dillon told the court at the hearing that she did not want to give evidence at the trial and intended to leave.

He added: “This whole notion of her being in a funk rings a bit hollow, based on the circumstances.”

Mr Worrell, from Warwick, has denied several charges that he assaulted Ms Dillon in 2018 and 2019.

He appeared in court on August 28 last year and pleaded not guilty to assaulting and wounding Ms Dillon on June 1, 2019, in Warwick.

Prosecutors said last October that they planned to proceed with another six allegations of similar offences on November 14, 2018, that had been withdrawn.

Ms Dillon withdrew all the complaints against Mr Worrell earlier this year, but prosecutors confirmed on January 22 that they still intended to continue the case “as a matter of public interest”.

Ms Dillon’s admission of contempt was purged and she was released on $1,000 bail and ordered to appear today or face imprisonment. • It is /The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding criminal court cases. This is to prevent any statements being published that may jeopardise the outcome of that case.