The file on the investigation of a Muslim Scholar’s alleged sexual abuse of seven boys has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and according to a police official this is the policy of the Guyana Police Force.
This declaration came a week after DPP Shalimar Ali-Hack had said that police can charge without her advice. She was at the time responding to allegations that she attempted to interfere in the matter by instructing the police to release the man.
Police sources said that regardless of what the DPP is saying, their usual protocol is to send such matters for advice.
The man, who lives in the city and had lived abroad for some time, was released on station bail for a second time on Thursday night. He had been rearrested after it was found that more boys were molested.
A source close to the Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) told Stabroek News last night that the release of the man was shocking and most unfortunate. The source expressed the view that the man now has the opportunity to flee the country.
The source said no more boys have come forward thus far, but opined that there was more than enough evidence to lay charges. The source pointed out that it would then be up to the court to decide if there is enough evidence to convict the man.
“Child advocates must come forward,” the source stressed, adding that the only thing left is for all parties involved to keep their fingers crossed and “hope that he is charged. We were hoping that he would have been charged today [yesterday].”
Stabroek News was informed that there are many abused children in the care of the CCPA still awaiting justice because the DPP took too long to return the order for charges to be laid. “By the time the DPP send back that order to charge, the perpetrators cannot be found,” the source said.
Meanwhile, the man’s lawyer, Vic Puran, told Stabroek News that his client “looks much better.” He said he spoke briefly to his client yesterday but has not received any update from the police.
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 he was released on $150,000 station bail shortly after. CIOG had said in a release that the man had been sent on leave pending the outcome of the investigation.
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 penetrated.
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.
Reports are that one of the children had attempted to highlight the situation but was ignored.
