The Muslim scholar at the centre of the sexual molestation scandal remained in police custody up to press time this evening and a police source said investigators are looking to institute charges before the end of the week.
Asked if the man was likely to be placed on bail, a senior police official asked rhetorically, “Is he entitled to bail?”
So far medical officials have confirmed that there was physical evidence that seven of nine boys who have been found were sexually molested. The other two said the man, who was last week placed on bail, had fondled them.
Stabroek News was told that the man was arrested late Tuesday afternoon after medical examinations confirmed that the last three boys had been interfered with. Officials of the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) were up to late this afternoon still looking for another child who is said to be in a rural location. The children who were reportedly molested range from age 4 to 13.
A source close to the agency told this newspaper that two of the boys had told officials that the incident was very upsetting.
This newspaper was told that some time back, one of the affected children had attempted to highlight the situation but was ignored. The source pointed out that it could be that the others are afraid to come forward before opining that if the agency had not intervened when it did more boys could have been abused. The source said the children’s parents did not suspect that something was wrong.
The fathers of the children involved are either in the interior or are “not around”, the source stressed.
This newspaper was told that the children are now acting out in the light of what happened, but officials of the agency continually tell them that “it is not their fault”.
The source said that each of the nine boys who are all in the care of the agency will have to undergo long-term therapy but for now the focus is on giving them support and getting them through this period.
The incident came to light last week when the agency received an anonymous tip. Officials began an investigation and four boys between the ages of 4 and 10 were identified. The police were informed of the situation and after the boys were medically examined, the Muslim scholar, who was employed by the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana (CIOG), was arrested but released on $150,000 station bail shortly after.
Over the weekend two more boys were identified but medical examinations confirmed that only one had been penetrated. The other boy, from the beginning, had said that the man often hugged and fondled him but he was never raped.
The names of four others were also handed over to officials of the agency. Three of the boys were found in a rural area and doctors confirmed that they had been sexually molested. The fourth boy is yet to be found.