PORT OF SPAIN (TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO)
Daily Express [Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago]
November 19, 2025
By Rickie Ramdass
[Photo above: The St Dominic’s Children’s Home]
FIVE men who, as children, once lived at St Dominic’s Children’s Home have taken legal action in the High Court, alleging that they suffered years of physical and sexual abuse while under the home’s care.
The group has brought proceedings against the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Port of Spain, the Office of the Attorney General, the Statutory Authorities Service Commission and a former supervisor, claiming each bears responsibility for the harm they endured as children.
The incidents are said to have taken place between 1983 and 2006.
The claim, lodged on October 10, will come before Justice Carol Gobin next week. The former wards are represented by attorneys Christlyn Moore, Adana Joseph-Wallace and Joshua Hamlet.
In the court filings, the claimants say they were unable to initiate action earlier because they were minors at the time of the alleged abuse, and later developed psychological conditions that prevented them from recognising the extent of the wrongdoing or pursuing redress.
They argue that the court should allow the case to proceed outside the usual limitation period, relying on recent psychiatric assessments and delayed public awareness sparked by the Sabga Report of 1997 and the Jones Report published in 2022.
The suit contends that St Dominic’s failed in its legal duty to safeguard children placed in its custody, allowing a climate in which violence, sexual exploitation and unsafe living conditions went unchecked.
The claimants allege that employees, visitors, older residents and, most prominently, a supervisor assigned to the home in the 1990s perpetrated the abuse.
That supervisor, appointed through the Statutory Authorities Service Commission, is accused of repeated sexual assaults, threats and physical punishment.
The Archdiocese, which exercised oversight of the home’s operations, is accused of negligence and may face vicarious liability for the actions of those acting under its authority.
The Attorney General is named on the basis that, prior to amendments made in 1998, the officers involved were considered servants of the state. After those legislative changes took effect, the Statutory Authorities Service Commission is alleged to have become directly responsible for the recruitment, supervision and continued employment of individuals who, according to the claim, later abused the children.
The filings state that the various authorities failed to respond to warnings, neglected to report allegations, kept poor or incomplete records, and refused to provide documents requested during pre-action procedures. The claimants also say there was no meaningful investigation, no proper medical intervention and no adequate steps taken to protect vulnerable children in the home.
They are seeking general and aggravated damages, interest and any further relief the court considers appropriate for the psychological trauma, disrupted education, reduced employment prospects and long-term mental health consequences they say resulted from the abuse.
According to pre-action correspondence, the defendants have denied liability and raised objections based on the time that has passed since the alleged events. The court is expected to first consider whether the matter can proceed despite the significant delay.
In explaining that delay, the claimants say the trauma they experienced caused them to suppress or compartmentalise what they endured, leaving them unable to come forward earlier or to understand the breadth of their claims. They say they feared the personal and social repercussions of speaking out, and lacked access to the Sabga Report when it was completed in 1997, as they were still minors and the document was not publicly available.
The claim adds that the individuals who witnessed or experienced the events remain available to give evidence.