KINGSTON, Jamaica — Three police officers in St James have been accused of attempting to blackmail two men who they reportedly caught in a “compromising position” in the parish in August.

The accused are Constables Damian Wilson and Shawn Stewart and District Constable Jerry Boothe.

It is said that the three lawmen took video recordings and photographs of two men who they found sleeping in a motor vehicle along Kent Road in Montego Bay on Saturday, August 19.

According to the Major Organised Crime and Anti-Corruption Agency (MOCA), the officers then solicited $50,000 from the men in order to avoid being prosecuted for breaches of the Buggery Act. The complainants reportedly gave them $10,000 and made arrangements for the rest to be paid at a later date.

It is further alleged that District Constable Boothe later contacted one of the complainants and solicited another $35,000 not to publicise the photos and video that were taken.

Subsequently, the complainants visited the MOCA-West office where a report was made, an investigation conducted and the policemen arrested.

Following an identification parade where they were identified, Wilson, Stewart and Boothe were charged by detectives from MOCA on Wednesday September 25 for breaches of the Corruption Prevention Act.

They appeared before the court on September 28 when they were offered bail in the sum of $1,000,000 each with sureties and are set to return on January 17.