ON Wednesday, March 13, Clinton Anthony Doris was found guilty of raping a seven-year-old girl five years ago, (in March 2014). The sentencing of the convict has been delayed though, as his attorney requested a probation report following the conviction. It has been reported that in March 2014, at Essequibo, Clinton Doris, called ‘Masquerade Man’ or ‘Lally,’ lured the child into his house as she was passing by on the way to her own home.

According to the disturbing reports, Doris called out to the seven-year-old girl and invited her inside his house for some ‘sweetie.’ However, after the child entered the house, Doris raped her. Sadly, such worrying occurrences are not unique, or even uncommon. The National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) postulates that a majority of child-rapes are never reported owing to such factors as fear of stigmatisation, the fact that many of the perpetrators are related to the victims, and many victims — being children — are intimidated by threats of reprisals if they ever spoke out.

The NCVC says, though, that at least 1 out of every 5 girls is raped or otherwise sexually assaulted, as is 1 in 20 boys. Citing another impediment to the successful prosecution of offenders, The NCVC said, “In the vast majority of cases where there is credible evidence that a child has been penetrated, only between 5 and 15 per cent of those children will have genital injuries consistent with sexual abuse.” This physical reality may make it more difficult to obtain a conviction in a court. Other factors may also contribute to that difficulty.
Guyanese are well aware of many of those issues.

In January of this year, a jury found Bishnauth Mohamed not guilty of the alleged rape of a five-year-old girl. The accused was acquitted of the charge which stated that on September 30, 2010, he engaged in sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16. While this publication will, of course, not comment or speculate on the reasonings or findings of courts in criminal matters, it has been extensively reported that Guyanese are generally disappointed with the way that some individual cases are handled. On February 5, a court granted bail to Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Seecharran Singh, who was recently charged with the rape of a 13-year-old girl. According to court documents, it is alleged that ASP Singh, between June 17, 2018, and June 18, at Providence, East Bank Demerara, engaged in sexual penetration of a child under the age of 16.

It is understood that legal judgements and other decisions are determined by the content of the law, while, on the other hand, the opinions of the average person are most often guided or influenced by such factors as emotion, religious belief, moral positions, and other abstract considerations; one must recognise that such opinions are valid by virtue of their mere existence. As such, decision-makers, particularly legislators and judicial personnel, should be aware of the impact of some cases on the national psyche. Additionally, the consequences of sexual attack have been extensively studied over many years, and are, therefore, quite well understood.

Experts say that a child who is the victim of prolonged sexual abuse usually develops low self-esteem, a feeling of worthlessness and an abnormal or distorted view of sex. The child may become withdrawn and mistrustful of adults and can become suicidal. Obviously, these are problems of significant importance, that may have profound community, social, and health implications. While officials are known to be aware of all of the facts, including the effects of rape or other sexual attacks on children, such crimes remain far too common. Unfortunately, unfairly, it may be easiest to blame ‘the government,’ but, clearly, family members, community leaders, religious figures, and indeed, all members of society have their part to play in reducing the prevalence of sexual abuse of children, with the objective of eliminating it.