Leave little girls alone, senior cop warns

By Garfield Myers
Jamaica Observer
January 8, 2017

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Leave-little-girls-alone--senior-cop-warns_85929

SALMON ... poverty should not be used as an excuse

SANTA CRUZ, St Elizabeth — Chief of police in St Elizabeth Superintendent Lanford Salmon has warned men who are attracted to underaged girls to heed the lessons from the recent arrest of a Moravian pastor on sex offence charges.

“The lesson for adult males is, leave the little girls on their own. Leave them alone. Allow them to mature and to make their own decisions at the right time,” said Salmon.

Rupert Clarke, 64, a senior pastor of the Moravian Church based in Manchester was charged recently with rape and also of having sexual intercourse with a child (a minor) under the age of 16.

Under Jamaican law, 16 is the legal age of consent in sexual matters, meaning that children under that age cannot legally consent to sexual relations.

The police allege that on the night of December 28, a motorised police patrol in the deep-rural community of Austin in Myersville, south- east St Elizabeth, just over a mile from the Alpart plant in Nain, came upon a parked car in a secluded area about 9:00 pm.

Further inspection allegedly revealed the pastor and a 15-year-old girl in what the police described as a “compromising position”.

Clarke, a father as well as the husband of a leading St Elizabeth educator was subsequently arrested and charged. He was offered bail in the sum of $800,000 when he appeared in the St Elizabeth Parish Court last week and is scheduled to return to court next month.

The St Elizabeth police told the Jamaica Observer Saturday that ”related investigations” are continuing.

Sources say that the victim of the alleged sex crime as well as her 13 year-old sister have been removed from their St Elizabeth home by the Child Development Agency (CDA) under powers flowing from the Child Care and Protection Act.

While being careful to point out that he was not specifically referring to the current case, Salmon told the Sunday Observer he has learnt from his many years in the police force that sometimes sexual offences against the children has its roots in poverty.

However, Salmon said parents and guardians should bear in mind that poverty could not be used as an excuse, legally or morally, in allowing children to take the wrong path.

“Despite poverty, parents must know that they must stand up and make sure their children are nurtured and brought up in the right and proper manner,” he said.

Under the Sexual Offences Act 2009 and the Child Care and Protection Act. The Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) is empowered to take action on all reports of sexual offences in relation to children.

Head of CISOCA, Superintendent Enid Ross could not be reached for comment yesterday.

However in an interview with JIS News last May, Ross urged parents, guardians and citizens to report all known or suspected cases of child abuse.

“We treat every matter that comes to our attention swiftly and we respect the rights of individuals to privacy and confidentiality, so there is nothing to fear as we have the child’s interest at heart,” Ross told JIS then.

She pointed out that children under the age of 16 cannot give consent for sex and so the law makes it mandatory for sex offenders to face punitive measures before the court.

Reports come to CISOCA primarily from school guidance counsellors, the CDA, hospitals, the Office of the Children’s Registry and probation officers.

Noting that child victims are less likely to report abuse, Ross said the Child Care and Protection Act made it mandatory for parents and citizens to report known or suspected incidents.

“The law is strict in respect of the failure of persons to report instances of child abuse (sexual of physical), and expressly provides a list of prescribed persons,” she said. Prescribed persons include doctors, nurses, dentists, principals and teachers.

“The State has placed these persons as those responsible and has the burden of reporting all instances of abuse that come to their attention. Failure to comply with this section of the law results in sanctions,” she warned. Sanctions include fines and/or imprisonment for six months.

Ross told the JIS last May that CISOCA had developed a collaborative approach in addressing sexual abuse of children and had been working closely with other State agencies such as the CDA and the Women’s Centre of Jamaica Foundation.

“We collectively take decisions to restore normalcy to families and the best interest of the child is observed,” she said, noting that matters are also referred to various State entities so that therapy can be facilitated.

She noted that even after the case is resolved, CISOCA continues monitoring through the school guidance counsellors, and foster parents, among other means.

Ross told the JIS that among the most challenging cases to investigate are those where the victim is in an intimate relationship with the perpetrator and is unwilling to give evidence.

“Complainants who are pregnant with the accused person’s child are also unwilling to come forward and give evidence because of the fact that the accused person is the one who will be giving child support financially or emotionally,” she said.

Ross said further that when a person is charged with having sexual intercourse with a person under age 16, she may indicate to the court on reaching adulthood that she no longer wishes to go any further with the matter against the accused.

“This is because the complainant is now an adult and can decide not to proceed with the matter without the consent of their parents,” she said.

According to the JIS, CISOCA’S work is complemented by a range of legislation, including the Trafficking in Persons Act, Cybercrime Act, Child Pornography Act, The Judicature (Resident Magistrates) Act, and the Offences Against the Person Act.