The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is still to comment on the alleged rape of a Guyanese-born Canadian citizen by one of its officers, but the police say the file was expected to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice during the course of yesterday.
When contacted yesterday, the GDF said it would issue a press release on the matter but up to press time nothing was forthcoming.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF), meanwhile, stated that the Kaieteur News article dated February 23, and titled, ‘Canadian citizen says Army Major sodomised her, police slow to act’, was incorrect in the aspect of the police being slow to act.
The force it wished “to reiterate that the matter involving the alleged sodomising of the woman was promptly dealt with in a professional manner and to the satisfaction of the reporter.”
The police said “the woman was contacted on the day of the publication by the police officer whom she initially reported the matter to, and she stated emphatically that at no time had she accused the police of lethargy in dealing with her report to any news reporter or anyone else and expressed surprise that such an allegation was published in the newspaper.”
The GPF also said in the statement that “while the police do not wish to comment on the detailed and vivid manner in which the victim’s alleged ordeal has been publicised, we are strongly refuting the boldly stated claim” that the police were slow to act in response to the report made.
The statement furthered, “in clearing the air on this matter, the Guyana Police Force wishes to state that during the morning of Friday, February 15, 2013, the woman telephoned a senior police officer whose office is at the Leonora Police Station, and whom she knows personally, and reported to him that she had allegedly been sodomised by an army o
fficer the day before at a hotel on the East Bank Demerara.
“She was advised to come in to the station in order to give a statement in the matter and she reported around midday. Following the recording of the report, and the taking of a written statement from the woman, she was escorted to the West Demerara Regional Hospital where she was medically examined,” the release noted.
The GPF also stated that “since the alleged incident had occurred in ‘A’ Division, which has responsibility for the East Bank Demerara, on the same Friday February 15, 2013, the senior police officer at Leonora whom the victim had spoken to, telephoned the Divisional Detective Officer at Brickdam and informed him of the matter and a transit report was also sent from Leonora Police Station to Brickdam in keeping with police procedures.”
The police also stated that the woman was informed of the developments and was told to report to the Divisional Detective Officer at Brickdam in order for the investigations to be followed up and she indicated that she would do so the following Monday, which she did.
“Efforts were then made by the police through the appropriate procedures for the army officer implicated to report that day to the police at Brickdam, but these were unsuccessful as the police were informed that he was on a training programme out of town.
However, the police visited the scene where the incident is alleged to have taken place and later arrangements were put in place for the army officer to report to the police on Thursday, February 21, 2013, which was communicated to the victim. On Thursday February 21, 2013, the army officer accompanied by two lawyers reported to the police at Brickdam where a confrontation was held between him and the woman,’’ the release added. The women is alleging that she was forced to have anal sex with the GDF major on Valentine’s Day after she only consented to having vaginal sex.
She said the man forcibly committed the act, despite her plea with him to stop. She had also said that she has known the accused for 12 years and they were friends.
