…police also probing link to suicide of victim

A FATHER from Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo, is mourning the death of his 13-year-old daughter, who allegedly took her own life on Saturday, believed to be as a result of suffering she felt over being sexually assaulted by the family’s pandit, who is said to be a candidate of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPPC).

Regional Commander, Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean, said that while the pandit is out on bail for the reported sexual assault, which was first reported on February 17, there are no current plans to bring him back in light of the child’s death. However the police will be investigating to ascertain if there is a link between the girl’s death and the PPPC candidate.

‘We don’t have a cause because there’s nothing linking him to her death. The most that will happen now is we have to see if there is a link,” McBean said. Subsequent to the February 17 report, the suspect was arrested on February 20, and released on $150, 000 station bail after giving statements. McBean said he denied the allegations. The police, McBean said, are currently working on the file to send to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for advice. Investigations are also ongoing to confirm the incident as a suicide case.

According to reports from the family, the second form student of the Zeeburg Secondary School was found, at approximately 07:00hrs, on Saturday, hanging in a bedroom of her Tuschen New Housing Scheme home.

She was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital, and family members say she died on the way to the hospital. Her death came five days after her father had taken her to the Leonora Police Station to make the report against the PPPC candidate, who is alleged to have been sexually grooming the young lady since October, 2019.

The father could hardly speak, on Sunday, as he sat in a chair at the family’s home, watched over by relatives who fear for his health, as he grieved the death of his third child. What the father said, however, was that he wanted justice for his child. “She was a quiet individual, easy going,” he shared.

PPP dogged by alleged predators
Since last year several leading lights of the PPP have been accused of sexual molestation; one of them also a candidate in next week’s elections- Allister Charlie is currently before the courts on a charge of rape. Back in January Charlie the PPP’s top representative in Region Nine was charged with sexual assault and perverting the course of justice. Charlie is a former Member of Parliament of the PPP and a Central Committee member.

The Guyana Police Force had launched an investigation into an alleged case of attempted rape by Charlie back in August last year. It is alleged that the PPP member attempted to rape a 16-year-old boy in Lethem, Region Nine. The incident came to the fore through a Facebook post made by the mother of the boy. “I’m disturbed by the video that I saw this morning of my son being taken advantage,” the distraught mother had written on her social media page at the time and proceeded to name the accused. The incident reportedly occurred in Lethem.

According to reports, the teenager, after attending a children’s party at Charlie’s residence was allegedly lured to a nearby bar and was given alcohol laced with ecstasy. He was reportedly video-taped with his pants and underwear down and genitals exposed. The accused reportedly had his genitals out at the time, not only in the presence of the minor, but other persons, who were seen laughing. A man, known to the family of the minor, was passing the bar at the time, and reportedly intervened, and started recording the incident, after he was shunned by those present. The victim was subsequently taken to his grandmother’s residence.

Guyana Chronicle had spoken to the mother of the victim but to safeguard the victim’s identity her name would not be disclosed. The woman, who resides in Georgetown, said she had learnt of the incident when she received a phone call from her mother, who lives in Lethem with her son. Her mother, the victim’s grandmother, was shown the video by the man who intervened when the incident was unfolding. That video was reportedly sent to the mother of the victim.

The woman said from all indications, her son was unwell when he returned home. He vomited several times and opted to sleep in a hammock. In the statement he gave to the police, the victim reportedly said that while at the party, the PPP member made sexual offers to him. It is alleged that, at the party, Charlie was sexually grooming the minor, and offered him oral sex, among other things.

Region One
Additionally, back in March last year the ChildCare and Protection Agency (CPA) had launched an investigation into an alleged case of rape of a 22-year-old young man by PPP Region One official, Brentnol Ashley. In an exclusive interview with Guyana Chronicle, the 22-year-old, despite his speech impediment, detailed how he was allegedly taken to Georgetown from Mabaruma and lured to a hotel, bullied into sex and left stranded, allegedly by the Region One Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley.

Ashley, in a separate interview with this newspaper, refuted all allegations levelled against him. In the interview, the 22-year-old told this newspaper that Ashley, who is a ‘friend’ to the family, would often times assist his mother financially.

According to the young man, Ashley, following a discussion with his mother, agreed to take him to Georgetown for medical attention. Periodically, the young man would experience ‘fits’ or seizures, and Ashley offered to help.