NASSAU| When a five-year-old boy kissed his father on the lips for the first time, his parents learned that a family friend had molested him, a Supreme Court jury heard yesterday.
The alleged victim, now nine, said his mother asked why he had kissed his father.
His response, “That’s what Pepe does to me,” sparked a police investigation that led to the arrest of Jose Thompson, who’s also known as Pepe.
The fourth grader was the first witness to testify in Thompson’s indecent assault trial before Justice Joyann Ferguson.
He recalled that Pepe, a friend of his mother, had picked him up from preschool on three consecutive days in November 2020.
The boy said that Pepe took him to his home.
He alleged that while there, Pepe touched and kissed his penis and butt.
The child said that Pepe also put his penis in the middle of his butt and later gave him a wet towel to wash himself and a towel to dry himself.
He alleged that Pepe told him not to tell his parents what he’d done.
After his parents learned about the alleged molestation, the boy said that his mother took him to see a doctor before they went to the police station.
The prosecutor, Terry Archer, asked the witness if he saw Pepe in court.
The child timidly pointed at the defendant.
In cross-examination by defense attorney Devard Francis, the boy said that he’d read his police statement beforehand as a memory aid.
Francis repeatedly asked the child if he felt pain or bled when Pepe allegedly put his penis in the middle of his butt, leading the prosecutor, Terry Archer, to object.
The judge intervened, emphasizing that the witness “said put not pushed”.
Archer said if the prosecution had alleged that penetration occurred, Thompson would have faced an unlawful sexual intercourse charge.
The defendant’s wife listened intently to the child’s testimony.
Archer is assisted by Janet Munnings and Calnan Kelly.
