Panaji: Julio Lobo, a Goan boy, who was alleged to be British Teenager Scarlett Eden Keeling’s boyfriend, was today acquitted by local court under the charges of staying with the minor girl.
Goa Children’s Court acquitted of the charges of grave sexual assault levied against him by Goa police. Julio, who reportedly befriended Scarlett on her Goa visit few days before her death, was accused of staying with the minor girl while her mother, Fiona Mackeown, was away in Karnataka.
Scarlett, a British girl on Goa visit was found dead on Anjuna shore on February 18, 2008.
Judge B P Deshpande, acquitting Lobo, ruled that the state police had failed to produce documentary evidence against him before the court during the trial.
During the investigation of this sensational case, which was later handed over to CBI, Julio was arrested in the last week of March, 2008.
The police chargesheet had claimed that Julio was staying with Scarlett even three weeks before her bruised semi nude corpse was found floating at Anjuna beach.
Peter Jose D’Souza, who represented Julio, said that his client was falsely framed by the state police and he will move to appropriate authorities complaining against this act.
CBI, which recently chargesheeted Scarlett death case, has accused two locals – Samson D’Souza and Placido Carvalho for drugging and leaving her to die on the seashore.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, November 25, 2009, 23:24