PORT-OF-SPAIN – The state's case against a Petit Valley security guard who had been accused of murderinghis girlfriend's son collapsed when the main witness, the child's mother, admitted that she was lying.

Alicia Browne – who last week claimed that Hakim Sergeant took her son for a walk in November 2002 and returned with an almost dead child – broke downin tears when she admitted that her allegations were false.

She said her son, 11-month-old Tyrese Browne, fell from a double-decker bed while she was combing his hair, and she made up the allegations against her then boyfriend when her cousin told her she could go to jail for child neglect, and also because the police refused to believe the truth when she told them.

Her admission led to a scene of tears and jubilation outside the Port-of-Spain Hall of Justice when 27-year-old Sergeant was freed last Friday.

Sergeant roared as he hugged his family members, and even shared a hug and kiss with Browne – the woman whose false evidence kept him behind bars for the past three years.

Browne had earlier apologised to him in court, while she admitted to fabricating her story; and just before he left the court house, Sergeant said "time will tell" if he would resume their relationship.

The two have a two-year-old daughter.

Browne's confession came after more than four hours of cross-examination from attorney Evans Welsh, who had insisted that the woman had given false evidence against his client.

On Thursday, Browne told a jury in the Port-of-Spain Third Criminal Court that she took her son to visit Sergeant at the St Joseph Boys RC School, where he worked, on the night of November 28, 2002, and Sergeant took him for a two-hour-long walk at the back of the school.

She had testified that when the two returned, her son was not breathing properly and she noticed bruises on his chest, forehead and the back of his head.

When she opened the prosecution's case, State Attorney Kathy-Ann Waterman-Latchoo said that Sergeant told the police that the baby had fallen from a bench, while forensic pathologist Dr Hughvon Des Vignes – who performed an autopsy on the child – concluded that the injuries were caused by the child falling from a multi-storey building or being slammed repeatedly against a hard surface.

Questioned about her story, Browne gave several answers that were inconsistent with her testimony.

She eventually admitted that the child hit his head when he fell from a double-decker bed at her house on November 28, 2002, and she became scared and took him to see Sergeant.

Probed further by Welsh, Browne said that when Sergeant noticed
the child looked unwell, she said he had an ear infection, but the child began vomiting.

She said Sergeant took the child for a short walk, and when they returned the child's heart had stopped beating.

She said she suspected that her son was not well after falling from the bed, but she did not tell anyone, and took him to the hospital where he died from head trauma on December 4, 2002.

Browne said she told a cousin how Tyrese had fallen from the bed, and the cousin convinced her that she could go to jail for child neglect and advised her to tell the police that Tyrese had fallen down while he was with Sergeant.

She said that she felt guilty after giving the false story to the police, and subsequently gave the true story to one of Sergeant's co-workers and then to Sergeant's parents.

She began crying during her testimony and capped off her confession with an "I'm sorry" to Sergeant and told him she still loved him.

After he was set free, Sergeant told the media he would explore his legal options against the police officers who investigated the case.

He claimed he was the victim of a malicious prosecution.

(Trinidad Express)