Court to Rule On Bail for Pregnant Woman Accused of Human Trafficking

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Prosecutors are objecting to the release on bail of an expectant mother accused of human trafficking.

Thirty-five-year-old Jamaican national Appolonia McClean has been in custody since July.

Prosecutors allege that McClean lured another woman to The Bahamas, kept her passport, and forced her into prostitution.

The crimes allegedly took place between September 1, 2023, and November 3, 2023.

In her bail application, McClean’s lawyer said that she’s pregnant and nursing a seven-month-old.

But, prosecutors said that the medical facilities at the prison were adequate.

They also say that McClean should remain behind bars because she’s previously been convicted of human trafficking.

McClean, who’s married to a Bahamian, was previously convicted of human trafficking in 2004.

She was sentenced to three years and eight months in prison after a magistrate found that she forced a woman into prostitution after tricking her into thinking she’d come from Jamaica to work as a cashier.

Justice Neil Brathwaite will give his bail ruling on September 25.