A doctor convicted of rape yesterday said he intends to represent himself at the penalty phase of his trial.
Gerald Mark Forbes informed Acting Chief Justice Bernard Turner of his stance shortly after his trial lawyer Devard Francis said he wanted to withdraw from the case.
Forbes was unanimously convicted of rape last September for a complaint that stemmed from 2010.
Forbes, who has been on remand since his conviction, has lost a considerable amount of weight.
Prosecutors accused Forbes of forcing himself on the woman after he tricked her into letting him into her office around 7 a.m. on March 9, 2010.
The victim worked in the plaza where Forbes ran his clinic, Carmichael Medical. A few days before the assault, Forbes asked the woman if she could answer the phone to the clinic when he wasn’t there. On the day in question, he came to her workplace ostensibly to bring the cordless phone.
However, once inside, Forbes, now 52, allegedly manhandled the woman and raped her in the bathroom.
A doctor who examined the woman shortly after, said that she was sad, depressed and had contusions to her genitals.
Forbes, who took the witness stand against the advice of his lawyers, claimed that he and the woman “had good, passionate sex” in the bathroom.
According to him, they sent each other hundreds of sexts after exchanging cell phone numbers on March 5.
Forbes alleged that although he and the woman were both single, they decided to keep their love affair secret.
He claimed that they had arranged hook-ups over the weekend of March 6 and 7 that never materialized.
On March 8, he alleged that he and the woman kissed and petted each other in an examination room of his clinic while other members of his staff were in another room.
He said they didn’t have sex then because he didn’t have a condom.
The following day, Forbes claimed that the woman called him to her workplace and told him she was alone.
He said he accepted the invitation and put on a Magnum condom before they had sex in multiple positions.
Forbes alleged that the woman’s demeanor and attitude changed after a male friend came to the office to check on her.
He said this surprised him because she had claimed that they were “just friends”.
Forbes also alleged that the rape allegation was an attempt to extort $20,000 from him.
However, prosecution witnesses never had the chance to respond to those scenarios because they were never suggested during cross-examination.
Acting Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Cordell Frazier and Karine McVean are the prosecutors.
