Georgetown: Both the Ministry of Human Services Child Protection Agency and the Police Force have commenced investigations into yet another alleged case of child abuse, which has been rocking the village of Cummings Lodge on the East Coast of Demerara.
CaribbeanTrakker first learnt of the dilemma, involving three sisters ages nine, seven and five, through reports made by concerned neighbours. They made the proactive decision to take their concerns to the police and subsequently to this publication since they are convinced that action into the matter is proceeding at “snail’s pace.”
According to one concerned resident she first got wind of the allegations following a disclosure from the eldest sister, who revealed recently that she was being molested by her stepfather.
Recounting the child’s starling disclosure the woman revealed that “‘she said how he (stepfather) tell me fuh tek off me pants and me panty and fuh put on this pink wan (one)…’” The allegations suggest that full-fledged molestation would commence after this immoral encounter.
While it has not been confirmed, there are reports that the man has also been molesting the two younger sisters as well. “We use to hear them children screaming in the night and when you ask he what happen to the children he does just say he don’t know what happen to them and all kinds of excuse…but we never buy (accept) what he say,” one resident disclosed.
Relating the depth of the children’s plight, the resident said that their mother had left them with their stepfather in order to pursue a job offer in an interior location. She reportedly left last month effectively leaving her children in the care of their stepfather whom she had assumed a relationship with a mere few months prior.
The resident said that following reports of the allegation to the police, “the police instead of coming and deal with the matter ‘they asking we if we gonna keep the children if the Human Services tek them away’…But that is not the issue; it got the orphanage to place these children once people report these matters like these where these little children being molested; they should have to question us they have to take action …”
Following the disclosure of the alleged molestation action earlier this month, reports are that the stepfather has since disappeared from the Cummings Lodge neighbourhood.
Further the resident revealed that two days ago they were shocked to learn that the Human Services Ministry had entrusted the girls into the care of the alleged abuser’s sister who lives in the same East Coast Demerara Community.
However, Director of the Human Services Ministry’s Child Protection Agency, Ann Greene, in an invited comment yesterday said that “we are looking into the matter.”
She explained that the Agency has a responsibility to ensure that children who are believed to be molested are placed into a secure environment with the least disruption to their lives. As a result, she revealed that it is not in every instance that the Ministry can place abused children into orphanages, adding that “even if we place the children in the care of the man’s sister it must be a place that we believe that the children are safe.”
The children will remain in such custody, the Director said, pending the completion of an investigation, which is currently ongoing by the Agency and the police. The entities, she said, are working in close collaboration.
In the interim, she disclosed that Ministry officials have and will continue to monitor children and their environment.
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