27 February 2014 by Chris Kilpatrick
Sex offender's appeal over
conduct of court interpreter fails
A sex offender attempted
to have his conviction for attacking a woman quashed after claiming an interpreter
– who was not properly qualified – told the victim what to say in court.
The Court
of Appeal this week dismissed the appeal by Noel Jesus Foronda against his
conviction for the offence of sexual assault.
Foronda
was found guilty by a jury last May and sentenced to two years, one of which he
was ordered to spend in prison.
He
appealed the conviction, citing concerns over the conduct of the Filipino
interpreter employed for the case by the Public Prosecution Service (PPS).
The Court
of Appeal heard that during the Crown Court trial the interpreter appointed on
behalf of Foronda informed the judge that the PPS interpreter had been
prompting the victim.
Quizzed
by Foronda's lawyer, the interpreter confirmed she was not registered with the
National Register of Public Service Interpreters, as required for a Crown Court
trial. She had been employed through the Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic
Minorities.
The
interpreter also confirmed accepting a lift from the woman's family from the
court doors to the main gate.
The trial
judge said he was not satisfied that the PPS interpreter was feeding the
witness answers and that it would not be in the interests of justice to
discharge the jury, as requested.
He
directed, however, that the PPS interpreter should not continue to interpret on
behalf of the woman because of her lack of appropriate qualifications.
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