(Trinidad Guardian) – Twenty-five years after being named as the accus-ed abuser of more than 30 boys at the St Dominic’s Children’s Home, a 51-year-old man was on Friday arrested by police.
And he is expected to be charged for a slew of offences soon, sources told Guardian Media.
It all started on Friday morning when a team of officers, led by Sgt Baptiste, went to the St Ann’s Hospital and held the man.
Last week, police went to the Port-of-Spain General Hospital in search of the man but were told he was on vacation. He returned to work this week but was subsequently transferred to the St Ann’s Hospital.
Hours after he was held on Friday, three witnesses went to the Besson Street Police Station, where the man was being held, and positively identified him as their alleged abuser.
This makes him the first person to be held arising out of sexual abuse allegations highlighted in the 1997 Robert Sabga-led task force report. That committee reviewed the operations of several children’s homes and institutions.
So far, investigators have received statements from five witnesses naming the man as their abuser.
The two others, who did not go to the Besson Street Police Station on Friday, are said to be living overseas.
The police also reached out to other victims but they have declined to be interviewed, indicating that they have moved on with their lives and have families whom they do not want to find out what they went through at the home.
The suspect’s predatory behaviour was outlined in the report of the Sabga-led task force.
“A male member of staff (who was once a resident there) is alleged to have perpetrated multiple sexual acts with a number of children up to the latter part of 1995. These included forced buggery; encouraging boys to have sex with each other while he watched; stripping and beating the older boys while the younger ones looked on; encouraging the children to ‘play’ with him, etc,” the report stated.
“He reportedly hit a child who once told about the ‘rough play’ at night. One young boy finally disclosed all and the alleged perpetrator was confronted. He admitted his actions and explained that he too had been abused at St. Dominic’s,” the report added.
The home’s manager reportedly asked the perpetrator to volunteer his resignation that day and all of his leave and other entitlements were paid to him in full.
“The matter was then promptly swept under the carpet and no counselling or follow up with the children involved was done, ostensibly to protect the reputation of the Home,” the report pointed out.
“Amazingly, other than the verbal reprimand he received from the Sister, and his constructive dismissal thereafter, very little else appears to have been done about his actions, either in terms of him getting professional help, or—more importantly—any of the staggering number of children he molested getting help either (one child even wrote a letter to a staff member pleading for help).”
The report stated that the “most astonishing” thing was that the “perpetrator allegedly got a letter of recommendation from St Dominic’s, and he is now reportedly employed at a health institution.”
In an exclusive interview with Guardian Media last week, the suspect denied the allegations against him and said a lot can change in 20 years.
This, however, did not sit well with one of his accusers, who told the T&T Guardian that he was “appalled, angry, upset, and hurt” by the man’s comments.
However, while police officers have made significant headway into the St Dominic’s case following this arrest, sources told Guardian Media yesterday that officers are no longer pursuing allegations of abuse at the St Mary’s Children’s Home in Tacarigua because none of the alleged past victims have come forward to speak with the police.