PARAMARIBO--Freedom does not come easy for the three rappers from The Hague in custody in Suriname on sexual misconduct charges.
As Frenna, Priceless and KM of The Hague rap group Strictly Family Business (SFB) had their first hearing on Thursday, January 17, a judge in Paramaribo denied their lawyers’ request to release them pending their sentencing. She even waved away the offer to confiscate their passports, arguing that they were still too big of a flight risk.
The rappers whose real names are Francis Edusei, Jackie Osei and Kaene Marica, were arrested on December 29 after a year-end performance in Paramaribo, on charges of having group sex with a 15-year-old girl in Paramaribo two years ago, and then sharing video footage of their sexual misconduct on social media. Kaene Marica (KM) has meanwhile confessed, arguing that he did not know the girl was 15 and that he himself was 17 at the time. He has also said that the two other rappers did not take part in the sexual encounter.
The girl’s mother has meanwhile withdrawn her initial accusations against the rappers, saying that she had not expected all the attention the case drew. The girl has spoken out against the arrests, explaining that “the sex had been consensual and I want everything to be aborted, because this can head in the wrong direction.” The girl has fled the country since the arrests, to escape the commotion.
None of this, however, persuaded the Judge of Instruction to drop the case, because it concerned sex with a minor and the distribution of the footage with sexual content, which are crimes authorities are mandated to prosecute.
At the first hearing on Wednesday, the rappers’ lawyers Humphrey Schurman and Maureen Nibte argued that witnesses had given contrasting statements, on the basis of which the rappers had been arrested. They also insisted that it was obvious meanwhile that not all their clients had been involved in the sexual encounter with the girl.
The judge told the lawyers that she wants to hear from the witnesses before making a decision; she adjourned the hearings until February 2 and ordered that the rappers were returned to their jail cells. This was much to the disappointment of the parents of Kaene Marica who have been in the country since his arrest, hoping at each hearing that they will be allowed to return to the Netherlands with their child.
