JDF investigating sexual assault claim against officer
THE Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) has confirmed allegations of sexual assault against one of its senior members made in a social media post.
The allegations state that the officer raped more than 16 females at Up Park Camp, the JDF headquarters in St Andrew, and promoted those who kept quiet.
The social media post went on to state that in 2019 another officer “did the same thing to a female who should never be working at Cybercrime and was given 24 hours to leave the camp”.
In a release sent to the media Monday afternoon, the JDF said preliminary investigations into the matter commenced as soon as the report was received, and maintained that the institution has a robust sexual harassment prevention policy and treats with any breaches as a zero-tolerance matter.
The statement from JDF further said that matters of this sensitive and personal nature are thoroughly investigated, with due regard for the privacy and protection of the complainant.
Further, the JDF said, as investigations into the matter are ongoing, comments in the public domain are proscribed.
The JDF, however, said it has a track record of dealing with disciplinary breaches of any kind when people are found culpable.
In March 2021 two male soldiers were charged with the rape of a woman soldier at Up Park Camp.
Two months earlier a JDF officer resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct.