A man was on Friday arrested by police at his Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice home for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl multiple times.
The man is now in custody at the Blairmont Police Station while the child is in the custody of child care workers.
According to reports reaching Stabroek News the teenager and her mother-who is mentally challenged-along with her two younger brothers have been staying with a relative who is the reputed wife of the man. Sometime after the family moved in with the relative, the man allegedly started to sexually abuse the child. From time to time he would beat his reputed wife who he would chase out of the home and then abuse the child.
In the meantime the man, who is unemployed, also sent the two younger children to work in the backdam with farmers to sustain him and refused to send them to school. It was the concerns of neighbours who suspected that something was amiss which led them to make contact with social services.
Stabroek News was told that initially when the man was approached he denied the allegations and said the child was out of the house. However, the child was reportedly in the toilet and as soon as the officials left the home she came out and neighbours promptly called back the officials. The child was then taken into protective custody and the man was arrested even as he continued to deny the allegations.
The child’s relative admitted that she suspected that something was wrong but initially blamed the young girl for what may have transpired.
Residents are calling on the Ministry of Human Services & Social Security to also remove the boys; the older of whom is thirteen, from the home since they are involved in child labour and are being denied an education. The girl has since admitted to officials that the man abused her and said her relative had even attempted to get her married off to a boy in the neighbourhood but the man interfered and caused the boy’s relatives to terminate all plans.
The investigation continues.
