Former Attorney General Elliott Mottley was yesterday accused of being "arrogant'' and "irresponsible'' over his handling of the Rebecca Middleton murder case.

Director of Amnesty International in Bermuda LeYoni Junos, who has sat through almost every public session of the probe into the handling of serious crime, said the buck ultimately had to stop with the Island's top prosecutor at the time.

Speaking at the hearing yesterday, Ms Junos said she believed Mr. Mottley left the country earlier than planned because he knew there would be criticism over how the case was prosecuted. And she accused him of failing to look at all the evidence, of believing a known criminal, and of being unprofessional when he took to the stand at the inquiry two weeks ago.

Ms Junos, who was not speaking as a representative of Amnesty International, but instead personally, told the commission that she felt violent crimes against women were not treated seriously in Bermuda, with racial and gender bias playing a role.

And she said the Middleton case was a prime example of that. Rebecca, 17, was raped, tortured and stabbed to death in Ferry Reach during the early hours of July 3, 1996.

She and her friend Jasmine Meens had been out to Harbour Nights in St.

George's and, in desperation, had accepted lifts home from boys they had just met after three calls for taxis failed to materialise.

Jasmine was taken home safely by one of the boys. Rebecca, who had accepted a lift on board a bike with two boys, never made it.

She was beaten, viciously sexually abused and inflicted with more than 30 knife wounds, before being carried to the middle of the quiet leafy road and left to die. A few days afterwards, Police arrested two suspects, Kirk Mundy and Justis Smith. Mundy, who was older and on bail for armed robbery, claimed to have had consensual sex with Rebecca before going off to wash himself in the water. He said he returned to hear Rebecca scream "no'' and said Smith had been the one to kill her. He then admitted they had thrown the knife off St. George's swing bridge.

On the strength of that statement alone, Mundy was charged with accessory after the fact, and Smith pre-meditated murder.

At that stage most of the forensic material had not been returned. DNA later placed Mundy at the centre of the attack, and experts said two people were likely to have been involved in her death -- one to hold her down and the other to inflict the wounds. Rebecca did not have one single defence wound.

Mundy received just five years for his part. Prosecutors tried to retry him for murder, but failed to bring new charges under the current law.

Smith was acquitted after Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux deemed there to be insufficient evidence -- a decision later labelled "astonishing'' by the Privy Council.

Yesterday, Ms Junos accused Police and prosecutors of failing to get a woman's perspective on the circumstances around the case, instead automatically believing that Rebecca, who had turned 17 a week earlier, would go off in the dark with a stranger to have sex. She said: "I believe that the most important piece of evidence was Rebecca Middleton's body and clothing which had been cut away.

Mottley under fire "These were very silent yet horrifically graphic witness statements, which fell on deaf ears of those who had the authority to prosecute.

"How could a decision (with regards charges) be based on the fact that Mundy had consensual sex? I think that should have been a matter for the jury to decide. The question that arises in this case is how much injury does a victim have to show before the issue of consensual sex is dealt with in an objective manner.

"I take issue with Mr. Mottley's statement (at the inquiry) that it was the sole evidence.'' She said top detective, Acting Assistance Police Commissioner Vic Richmond, told the hearing that on the day that the charges were decided there were 11 pieces of evidence available.

She added: "It is my opinion that this was enough evidence to charge both of them (with murder), or to lay holding charges against both of them, and let the jury decide.'' When Mr. Mottley appeared before the commission he pointed the finger of blame for the fiasco at Solicitor General Bill Pearce, who was given the Smith trial to conduct. He blamed the collapse of the case on Mr. Pearce and said even junior prosecutors were voicing concern over the handling of it.

But yesterday, Ms Junos said if Mr. Mottley had been that worried, as Attorney General he could have intervened and taken over the case himself.

She added: "I think it's highly irresponsible that if he did not think it was being prosecuted properly that he did not use the power invested in him by the constitution to take over and prosecute properly.

"He's arrogant to criticise a member of his chambers whom he hired out of 80 applicants. He had a moral responsibility to prosecute that case. He had promised the Middletons over and over that he would prosecute it.'' And she suggested in future, women, whether they be Police officers, prosecutors or experts in the field, be brought in to offer a female perspective on cases involving violence against women.

She added: "This is vital because if you look at the Middleton case, what you see is that all the people who attended the meeting on July 12 (to decide charges) were men.'' Ms Juno said she had some concerns about the way the commission had been run, accusing the commissioners of failing to question Mr. Mottley vigorously.

And she asked the commissioners to make recommendations that better facilities be made available for the treatment and care of women who have suffered violence. She also said she believed Puisne Judge Meerabux was right to acquit Smith.

She said the only reason Smith had been charged was on the basis of Mundy's statement and the defence never had a chance to question Mundy and his character as he was not called as a witness.