Three members of the police force who were charged four years ago with abducting and gang raping a prostitute in Portmore, St Catherine, were freed in the St Catherine Circuit Court on Friday.
Prosecutors entered a formal verdict of not guilty against Constables Michael Beckford, Everton Barnett, and Ajani Willoughby, following an application by their attorneys.
Defence attorneys Peter Champagnie and Christopher Townsend had urged the court to dismiss the case on the basis that the complainant did not attend court for the trial, despite efforts to find her.
The prosecution agreed.
The three cops were charged in 2011 following a probe by the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA).
Investigators reported that on July 26, 2010, the cops were travelling in a police bus along the Port Henderson main road - popularly known as "Back Road" - when they saw the woman.
Following a brief conversation, the policemen reportedly dragged the woman into the bus and took her to a house in Waterford, where she was gang raped and released. The incident was reported to CISOCA, three months later.
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