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- Jamaican paralegal Ruth Kelly-Spencer has filed a lawsuit against seven parties, including the police commissioner and the Government.
- The lawsuit alleges breaches of constitutional rights, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution.
- Kelly-Spencer has been facing conspiracy to defraud charges since 2012, alongside her employer attorney Sean Kinghorn and farmer Linton Campbell.
- The Crown previously dropped forgery charges but continues to pursue the conspiracy to defraud case.
- Kelly-Spencer is seeking damages for being held for 12 hours and for malicious prosecution without reasonable cause.
A Jamaican paralegal, Ruth Kelly-Spencer, has initiated legal proceedings against seven parties, including the Commissioner of Police and the Government of Jamaica, citing alleged breaches of her constitutional rights, false imprisonment, and malicious prosecution. The lawsuit, filed in the Supreme Court in February, seeks damages stemming from a protracted legal battle that began in 2012.
Kelly-Spencer, alongside her employer, attorney Sean Kinghorn, and farmer Linton Campbell, has been facing charges of conspiracy to defraud for over a decade. The allegations center on claims that they conspired to illegally create a will for an elderly returning resident in St. Mary in 2008, who has since passed away. While the Crown previously abandoned forgery charges against the trio during the ongoing trial, the conspiracy to defraud case continues.
The claim filed by Kelly-Spencer names a grand-niece of the deceased, a minister of religion (both complainants in the fraud matter), a detective from the now-defunct Counter Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch (C-TOC), two police sergeants, the Commissioner of Police, and the Attorney General of Jamaica as defendants.
According to Kelly-Spencer's filing, in July 2012, the detective, identified as the third defendant, "incarcerated" her at C-TOC's then-headquarters in the Corporate Area for a period of 12 hours. Following this, she was charged with forgery and conspiracy to defraud before being granted bail. She is now seeking damages not only for this alleged false imprisonment but also for malicious prosecution, asserting that there was no reasonable cause for the charges.
Furthermore, the lawsuit extends to claims of fraud and negligence against a police sergeant and a handwriting expert. Kelly-Spencer alleges that the opinion provided by this handwriting expert directly led to the now-abandoned forgery charge. This legal action highlights the significant personal and professional impact of the ongoing fraud case on Kelly-Spencer, as she seeks redress for what she describes as fundamental infringements on her rights.