Judge to rule on dismissing Yahweh Qahal case

ST JAMES, Jamaica — Senior Parish Judge Kaysha Grant-Pryce will rule later this month on whether a case against a faith-based group involving charges of cruelty to children is to be dropped.It follows a May 29 application for Grant- Pryce to dismiss all charges brought against members of Montego Bay- based faith group, Yahweh Qahal.Thirteen members of the group were in June of 2023 charged for Breaches of the Education Act for operating a school without government approval.Other charges laid were cruelty to children and indecent assault under the Child Care and Protection Act and the Sexual Offences Act, respectively.At the close of the prosecution’s case, the groups' attorneys King’s Counsel, Peter Champagnie and Samoi Campbell submitted that the prosecution had failed to make a case against the accused.The prosecution after hearing submissions, conceded that the charges of indecent assault against two of the accused had not been made out in respect of a child under their care.The prosecution however contended that there was a case to answer for the others charges that were laid.It is being alleged that the living conditions under which the children were being cared for were unsanitary and a danger to good health.The judge has reserved her decision for June 17, 2026.