Convictions for sexual offences feature prominently on matters expected for review when the Court of Appeal sits in November.

Several criminal appeals have been listed for the upcoming sitting in a draft calendar — although the list can be amended at any time.

The calendar lists four sexual offenders: Cahlii Smith, Maleke Martin, Ronald Forde and Shuja Amon Muhammad.

Smith was jailed for 11 years last year after he was found guilty of blackmailing two teenage girls into producing and sending him child pornography.

During his trial, the court heard that the victims were contacted by an unknown person on social media who claimed to be a hacker who had accessed intimate images of them and threatened to distribute them if they did not give in to his demands.

Smith denied the allegations during a Supreme Court trial, claiming that he did not have access to the laptop involved in the case, but was found guilty by a unanimous verdict.

Martin, was convicted in December 2022 on two charges of sexual exploitation of a young person by a person in a position of trust and one of showing offensive material to a child.

The offences came to light after the victim told her grandmother that Martin had shown her an inappropriate video and made her perform lewd acts.

He was subsequently sentenced to imprisonment for 13½ years, 16 years and six years respectively, to run concurrently for a total of 16 years.

Forde pleaded guilty in the Supreme Court in 2024 to charges of luring while in a position of trust, sexual exploitation and accessing child pornography.

The court heard that a family member of the victim had discovered a series of social media messages between Forde and the child, after which the child admitted that she and the defendant had kissed in his bedroom.

The Guyanese teacher was sentenced to seven years behind bars for the offences and Puisne Judge Juan Wolffe ordered that the sentence for sexual exploitation run consecutive to the others.

Muhammad was convicted by magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo in 2023 of touching two girls for a sexual purpose between August 1 and September 30, 2021.

The magistrate also found Muhammad guilty of intruding on a young girl’s privacy after a separate trial that same year.

The court is also expected to hear an appeal by Jaron Roberts, who was convicted in 2023 of possessing a firearm and ammunition, as well as resisting arrest.

Roberts was stopped by police on July 31, 2021, in the middle of a motorcade held in celebration of Somerset’s Cup Match victory.

Officers arrested him over an outstanding warrant but a search of his backpack revealed a loaded firearm.

While Roberts denied knowledge of the weapon, he was found guilty by a unanimous verdict and sentenced to 17 years’ imprisonment.

Meanwhile, the Crown is expected to appeal a ruling by the Supreme Court to throw out a murder case against Isaiah Smith, Omari Williams and Jaja DeSilva, who were accused of fatally stabbing Marcus Smith.

While prosecutors in the case offered a nolle prosequi — a legal step indicating that they did not wish to continue with the case at that time — Puisne Judge Wolffe instead instructed the jury to deliver verdicts of not guilty, stating that the case had “imploded” in front of the jury.

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