Georgetown: Embattled former teacher of the Bishops’ high school, Coen Jackson was Thursday released on $300,000 bail when he reappeared before Magistrate Leron Daly at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court.
Jackson, who has been a teacher for the past 15 years, is being accused of abusing his position of trust as a teacher after he allegedly began grooming female students for sexual activity after they would have attained the age of 16; the legal age of consent in Guyana.
He was represented by Attorneys Sanjeev Datadin and Siand Dhurjon.
Reports indicate that an investigation was launched after a former student of Jackson’s filed a report alleging that she had sexual contact with the teacher while she was still a student.
The matter was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions, (DPP) for advice and a charge was instituted against Jackson.
The accusations against Jackson were first brought to the fore by Cultural Policy Advisor within the Ministry of Social Cohesion, Mr. Ruel Johnson.
Jackson retained legal representation and denied the allegations of sexual abuse of students under his instruction. He accused Johnson of taking such action, because he had been in communication with Johnson’s wife.
Johnson, in a letter of complaint to Chief Education Officer, Mr. Marcel Hutson, suggested that Jackson had been sexually abusing female students for many years.
Johnson alleged that the stories of abuse started in the late 1990s, beginning at another City secondary school, and followed Jackson’s career through attachments at several other schools.
The Cultural Advisor’s letter of complaint was also sent to the Ministries of Social Protection, Legal Affairs, Public Health, Public Security and Social Cohesion.
The complaint had forced the Education Ministry into investigation mode. Jackson was sent on administrative leave to facilitate the investigation. At the end of the process, the findings were sufficient to warrant a police investigation.
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