“I was in ‘Lala Land’ during the first six months of this case, and although justice prevailed, I am bitter and it still hurts badly,” declared businessman Elia ‘Leo’ Taddeo, after he was cleared of s*xual touching of two females in St Catherine Circuit Court last Tuesday.
Taddeo, a Canadian real-estate developer, said that he upset with the system as he was forced to suffer as a result of weak investigation by the police.
“I am very bitter as I know that if a proper and thorough investigation had taken place, I would not have been robbed two years of my life during which I have suffered mentally, emotionally, financially, and ended with shattered reputation,” said Taddeo.
He told The Sunday Gleaner that he almost lost his mind during the first six months of the case.
‘I WAS SET UP’
“I did not touch any of those complainants, I was set up by two former employees who were fired for dishonesty. They got back at me by trying to extort money and a house from me,” alleged Taddeo.
He said he will now try to get his life back on track and get on with the provision of houses to the Jamaican market.
Taddeo was arrested and charged in 2015 after three complainants reported to the Centre for Investigation of S*xual Offences and Child Abuse that they were touched inappropriately by him.
He denied those allegations and the matter dragged through the justice system until last week when prosecutors told the court that there was no evidence on which to prosecute him.
The court was told that the complainants retracted their statements given earlier against the businessman. This prompted the prosecutors to tender a nolle prosequi, which is a formal notice of abandonment by the prosecutor of all or part of a lawsuit.