-mother was unaware of abuse, police find
The 11-year-old girl who was impregnated by her father, who later took his own life, has given birth and she is now in the care of her mother.
A source close to the case yesterday confirmed that the child gave birth to a healthy boy on August 12 via Caesarean Section. Stabroek News was told that the Child Care and Protection Agency (CC&PA) is also giving support to the family.
A police investigation had apparently found that the mother was not culpable and did not have knowledge that her daughter was the victim of sexual abuse.
Following a tip off, officers from the CC&PA found the visibly-pregnant girl in a community along the Linden/Soesdyke Highway. It is believed that she was being kept away from school while awaiting her Grade Six examination results for placement at a secondary school.
Her mother, during questioning, denied knowing about the pregnancy.
It was claimed that the child was impregnated sometime late last year and her father, believed to be the person responsible, committed suicide by drinking poison last December.
Meanwhile, investigations are still ongoing into sexual abuse cases involving three Region Seven girls who have all given birth.
A source yesterday stated that the teacher, who is implicated in one of the cases, is a cousin of the girl. The source indicated that a name of the 19-year-old man was handed over to the police and the last check was that he had not been found. The girl is 13 years old.
In the second case, the 13-year-old mother had alleged that it was a 26-year-old man who impregnated her but investigations later revealed that it was her stepfather.
The third case involves an 11-year-old, who gave birth naturally on Sunday.
According to Guyana’s laws 16 is the age of consent. Sexual activity below that age is classified as rape.
Minister of Human Services Jennifer Webster on Sunday told Stabroek News that the girls were brought out of the region to Georgetown after her ministry learnt of their condition. They were then brought to the city, where they were kept at a state-run children’s home as would be the case for all abused children. She said that investigations have so far revealed that two of them were impregnated by a teacher.
It is the objective of the ministry to reintegrate the girls back into a school system, where they can each have access to a secondary education.
Webster added that her ministry and the police were working to bring the perpetrators of the sexual abuse on the girls to justice.
