The girlfriend of a St. Thomas man charged with assaulting a child appeared in court Wednesday, after being arrested and charged with failing to report the crime and take the child to the hospital for treatment for a broken collarbone.
Jasmine Ware was arrested Tuesday and charged with aggravated child abuse and neglect, accessory after the fact, and misprision of a felony.
She was held without bail pursuant to the domestic violence law and appeared in court for her advice-of-rights hearing Wednesday – two days after she appeared in court as a potential third-party custodian for her boyfriend, Dexter Teschiera Sr., 43, of Estate Ross.
Teschiera is facing a possible life prison sentence for first-degree aggravated rape; unlawful first-degree sexual contact; first, second and third-degree assault; and aggravated child abuse and neglect. Ware offered to serve as his custodian while he awaits trial, but Magistrate Judge Henry Carr III said Monday that would not be appropriate under the circumstances. The case began Friday when a 14-year-old girl called police and said that on Aug. 2, Teschiera "grabbed her by the throat, lifted her up into the air, and slammed her body down on the counter,” according to the affidavit filed by police.
Teschiera had been in an argument with Ware when he asked the girl to weigh in, and she said her opinion angered him, sending him into a violent rage. After she fell to the floor, the girl said Teschiera "kicked her," before she ran into the bedroom, followed by Ware. The victim told Ware she was in pain and wanted to go to the hospital. Ware told her there was an arm sling in the bathroom, according to the affidavit.
Teschiera later apologized, but when she told him she was in pain, "he began to act as if the situation never happened," the girl told police. She said Ware reluctantly agreed to take her to the hospital, but never did. The victim said she decided to call police four days after the assault "because she was in tremendous pain and no one in the house cared enough to do anything about it." The victim also described several instances of sexual assault by Teschiera, according to the affidavit. Police took the girl to the hospital, where emergency room staff confirmed she had a broken collarbone.
Police arrested Teschiera Friday, and Ware brought his clothing to the jail, and the victim’s backpack to the police station. Investigators asked Ware to give a statement, but she said “she contacted someone from the tribe who told her not to speak to police,” according to the affidavit. Teschiera identifies as a sovereign, tribal citizen, and told the judge his name is Makurija Sakatu.
In an interview with police Tuesday, Ware again refused to give a statement. “Ms. Ware indicated that she was afraid, that she had never been arrested before and she was only trying to follow Mr. Teschiera and the tribal attorney. Ms. Ware went on to state that she is not a sovereign citizen but, she does not want to give a statement to police without a lawyer present,” according to the affidavit.
Police also conducted another interview with the victim and spoke to her mother, who does not live on St. Thomas. The mother said Ware called her the day of the incident and told her what had happened, and the mother suggested she give the victim a pain reliever. When Ware sent the mother a photo of the child’s injury, however, the mother said they should take her to the hospital, according to the affidavit.
The victim “provided an audio recording” to police on which Teschiera and Ware can be heard discussing the situation. The victim told Ware on the recording, “You were there, why won’t you say anything?” and “How can you stay here knowing what he did? I have been begging all of you to take me to the hospital.” Police said the victim could also be heard crying on the recording and telling Ware “But it is your car, you can take me to the hospital.”
Police placed Ware under arrest Tuesday and charged her with three crimes, but in court Wednesday Carr found probable cause for only one of those – accessory after the fact. Territorial Public Defender Alexia Furlow successfully argued that Ware’s actions did not meet the definition for the other two crimes, because she did not assist with the assault or abuse, and did not actively take steps to hide the crime from police. Assistant V.I. Attorney General Brenda Scales argued that the charges were appropriate because Ware knew the girl had been hurt, and was in pain, but did nothing – and refused to say anything to police.
“If she refuses to speak to the police, is she not exercising her constitutional rights?” Carr said. He found no evidence for the charges of aiding and abetting aggravated child abuse and neglect, and misprision of a felony. “That doesn’t mean that I like what went down, but I am going to adhere to the statute,” Carr said. Furlow argued that the accessory after the fact charge was also inappropriate.
“What Miss Ware did was remain silent,” Furlow said. “In no way did she assist the offender. Remaining silent is not enough to satisfy the bare elements of this statute.” “A child was thrown to the floor and she observed it,” Scales said. “After telling the child that she would take her to the hospital, she didn’t do it.” If Ware had taken the child for treatment, “of course they would be questioned with respect to how the child got the injury, so that’s assisting him and avoiding the legal ramifications of his actions,” Scales said.
“I think that’s enough evidence where Miss Ware was present where a criminal offense was committed,” and chose not to assist the victim, Carr said. “I think that minimum level, that minimum bar has been met.” The victim, “was in such pain that ultimately she had to call police herself, she was never taken to the hospital by the suspect in this case, Carr said. He added that, “I don’t believe it’s a real strong case. But I find probable cause at this particular stage.”
