NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC – A government legislator has been released on US$9,000 bail and will return to court on November 16 after he pleaded not guilty to charges of rape, assault and threatening to kill a woman earlier this year.
When he appeared before Justice Cheryl Grant-Thompson, Kirk Cornish, 48, denied the allegations that the prosecution alleges he had committed between January 20 and April 4.
He is accused of raping the 35-year-old woman on two separate occasions and threatening to kill her on April 4. He is also accused of allegedly assaulting her on January 20 and again on March 25.
The police had issued a statement in August stating that “preliminary reports indicate that around 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 7, 2023, a 35-year-old female … reported to police that she was sexually assaulted and threatened by a male known to her.”
Cornish had, in an earlier statement, said the charges are “based on false allegations.
“I am confident that the facts that emerge during the judicial process will prove my innocence. I look forward to ending this nightmare. The facts will show that this was a breakup manipulated and exploited for political reasons – and nothing more,” he added.
In August, Cornish was forced to resign as Parliamentary Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister. Prime Minister Phillip Davis said then that an independent Director of Public Prosecutions had determined sufficient evidence to bring charges against the legislator.
“It is now up to our judicial system to resolve the outcome, so I will not be providing additional comment except to say that my prayers are extended to all suffering because of this matter,” Davis said.
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