The Guyana Police Force (GPF) yesterday said that an investigation has been launched by its internal affairs unit of the conduct of ranks in a rape allegation case where the complainant later died by suicide.
In a news item in yesterday’s Sunday Stabroek, the family of 18-year-old Tonika Calder blamed officers at the Cove and John Police Station for her death by suicide because of the way they handled her allegation of rape against a taxi driver.
In the statement yesterday, the GPF said that it had “noted, with concern, an article published in the Stabroek News of Sunday November 28, 2021 under the caption `Family of suicide victim says police mishandling rape allegation contributed to her death.’“The article states that an 18-year-old female made a report to the police of rape committed on her by a taxi-driver, and subsequently took her own life allegedly because of the unprofessional way in which police ranks conducted their investigations into the report.
“The Guyana Police Force is informing the public that an investigation by the Police Force’s Office of Professional Responsibility has been launched into this matter, with particular focus on the conduct and actions of the ranks who received the report and conducted the ensuing investigations”.
The family had told the Sunday Stabroek that they had lodged a report with Commander of Region Four ‘C’ Khalil Pareshram, who promised an investigation. Before the publication of the news item, the Sunday Stabroek had reached out to Pareshram on the probe and the conduct of the ranks.
He told this newspaper that an investigation was conducted into the rape allegation and legal advice was sought and given and this was conveyed to the family. That advice was that the alleged rapist would face no charges since the complainant was dead.
Asked about an investigation into the handling of the investigation, the commander said the family’s complaint was more about some Facebook posts and that posts were made by parties both for and against the accused. He told this newspaper that the relative making the report opted not to give statements and maintained that it was “primarily” about the Facebook posts and not about the handling of the investigation.
Pressed as to whether the ranks involved would be investigated, the commander stressed, “All I am saying [is that] an investigation was done and legal advice was sought”.
The family had complained that Calder’s death came hours after she was interrogated by investigators at Cove and John Police Station, who forced her to detail her sex life in front of the alleged rapist and her mother.
Her sister, Dixie Jordan, believes it was this that drove her sister to take her life and said her reputation is now being viciously tarnished on Facebook by supporters of the alleged rapist.
“I just want the truth to be out there… My sister’s name is now being tarnished… The police never give her and my family any sympathy; it was as if they were all for the man. They made my sister, a teenager, talk about her sex life in front of this man who claimed he was having a relationship with her and now people saying we wanted money and all that…,” the sister told this newspaper in an interview.
She said the alleged perpetrator, who is 49-years-old, got off scot-free on account of her sister’s death and their mother cannot get over the loss of her last child. Jordan accused the lead investigating rank of having close ties to the alleged rapist.
