School accused of cover-up
Detectives from the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) are probing allegations that five boys, all nine years old, sexually assaulted a seven-year-old girl at the Dunrobin Primary School in St Andrew on September 28.
At the same time, the mother of the girl is accusing the school of trying to cover up the alleged assault, saying that school officials took more than a week to inform her of the incident.
“How I feel, I start to cry same time. look from when dis happen to my child and is now dem just telling mi,” the girl’s mother told the Observer.
Yesterday, Inspector Dutress Foster-Gardner of CISOCA said that the centre had ordered a medical examination of the girl, which showed that her hymen had been broken.
Foster-Gardner said that the boys and their parents, the girl and her parents and officials from the school will be appearing in the Family Court today to arrive at a resolution.
“The law says boys under the age of 14 cannot commit rape,” she said, adding that the judge would have to decide on the course of action all parties will take.
Foster-Gardner was referring to the Offences Against the Person Act, a section of which stipulates that a person under age 14 cannot be charged with rape.
Yesterday, the girl’s mother said she was informed about the alleged assault by the guidance counsellor on Monday of this week when she went to the school to check on Hertiage Week activities.
She said she returned to the school yesterday, but was not pleased with the response of school officials.
“Di principal not giving me nuh good argument,” the exasperated mother told the Observer. She said it appeared the principal, Robert Gilles, was siding with the boys.
“Is like dem [the school] a cover up. a long time dis happen an de whole a dem ova deh know an a cova it up,” she charged.
When the Observer contacted Dunrobin Primary, an assistant said neither Gilles, his vice-principal nor the guidance counsellor could speak on the issue.
The assistant said she had heard of the incident and was sure something had happened, but was unable to give details.
The girl’s mother said she was present when the five boys admitted to molesting her daughter twice in the same afternoon. She said her daughter told her that she was in the bathroom when the boys dragged her into an abandoned building and assaulted her. The girl returned to the bathroom to wash her hands and the boys came back for her and assaulted her again.
“Even di principal sayin’ di boys should be on suspension, so why dem still at school?” the mother asked. “Dem sayin’ dem cyaan suspen’ dem cause dem a guh inna trouble wid Ministry [of Education].”
She said to make matters worse, other children are talking about the matter and school officials are insinuating that her child is mentally challenged and is in the wrong school.
“I agree she is slow, but dat nuh give you nuh reason to say my child nuh righted,” the mother said, unable to mask her anger.
She said the incident has “stressed out” her daughter and she is now afraid of the boys.