Karen DeSouza of Red Thread says the boy caught up in the child solicitation allegations being made against Office of the President Press and Publicity Officer Kwame McCoy, needs to come forward and speak with the authorities since his statement would be useful to the police investigation.
She notes that the mother can cooperate on behalf of the boy, but emphasizes that the aggrieved person “must give a statement”, and since the boy is a minor the mother would have to be present at any sit-down with the police to offer advice as to whether they can proceed with criminal charges.
Previously, social activist Mark Benschop had said that the mother is willing to speak with the police on behalf of her son because “he is fearful of going public”. Benschop said the mother has no confidence in the administration taking any action and/or the police conducting a probe, but is willing to speak on behalf of her son. Benschop charged also that the authorities are fully aware of where the mother is and how to contact her if they were serious about a probe, but the police maintain that they are still trying to locate the family.
DeSouza told Stabroek News that Red Thread’s position on the issue has not changed, which is that McCoy is innocent until proven guilty, and that unlike the police the Child Protection Agency does not require the same level of justifiable evidence to launch an investigation into the matter. “… They certainly don’t require a complaint,” she said, referring to the agency.
From a moral perspective, DeSouza said, the episode seems to do a real disservice to government’s protection of child rights and to the protection of children, “to have in such a prominent position a person who has been accused of wrongdoing towards children”.
Meanwhile, Commissioner on the Rights of the Child Commission Vidyaratha Kissoon is calling on the National Assembly to “do the right thing” and convene a tribunal to investigate the allegations.
Speaking to reporters while engaged in a protest in front of the National Assembly last Thursday, Kissoon, when asked his views on the allegations surrounding Mc Coy, said he expected the National Assembly to vote for a tribunal to be convened which would be the “right thing”. At that time, Kissoon was part of the group of protestors from Red Thread, Help & Shelter, Every Child Guyana and other non-governmental organizations, that were calling for the quick passage of the Sexual Offences Bill, which is currently before a parliamentary select committee.
Addressing the Mc Coy matter, Kissoon said the President cannot remove a Commissioner on his own but has to act upon the advice of the tribunal. He opined that Guyanese would want the tribunal to be set up so that the matter could be investigated effectively and concluded as quickly as possible.
He also said that the identity of the child needed to be protected and opined that the Child Protection Agency would do its best to ensure that this was done. The repeated replaying of the recording did not help in protecting the identity of the child, Kissoon opined.
Previously, Kissoon had said on his blog that Article 225 of the Constitution provides for the removal of any commissioner on any of the commissions. He said the Constitution suggests that the Speaker of the National Assembly , who is the prescribed authority (Article 212 Y (4) ) can request of the President that the removal of the officer be investigated, following which a tribunal is established from within the Judicial Service Commission that could then investigate and make a recommendation.
Kissoon suggested that the National Assembly request the Speaker to ask the President to convene a tribunal to investigate this matter and recommended that McCoy “recuse himself from any of the activities of the commission until such time as the tribunal makes its findings available.”
He also said that it was “sickening if there is someone who was guiding the child if they were making any kind of recording to discuss a sexual relationship with an adult.”