13-year-old admits relationship to Childcare Unit in signed statement

Feb 02, 2009 News

Sex scandal in Grove…

…neighbour offered bribe on two occasions to keep mouth shut

Randolph Pereira, a community leader in the village of Grove, East Bank, Demerara, in an interview with this newspaper yesterday, said that he was offered money on two occasions to not report to the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s childcare department the relationship between the 13- year-old girl of Grove and a 31-year-old man, called ‘Bathroom Crapo,” whom the teen’s parents reportedly encouraged to have sex with her.
Pereira said that when he learnt what was going on in the home, he warned the couple to desist from their illegal actions or he would lodge a complaint at the relevant authorities.
He noted that he had even spoken to the young teen by herself, who admitted to the relationship but said that she could not stop because her father would put her out of the home.
He said he was then offered $100,000 by the 31-year-old man to keep his mouth shut.
Following the article in yesterday’s edition of the Kaieteur News, Pereira said he was again offered $100, 000 for his silence in the future. He declined both offers.
This subsequent offer was made by the husband of the girl’s 15-year-old sister, who is also an adult.
A source told this newspaper that the teen, in a signed statement to the Childcare Protection Agency, admitted that, “her boyfriend (name provided) 31 years of age, known as ‘Bathroom Crapo,’ sleeps occasionally at my parents’ residence in my bedroom with me…I am presently not attending school because the Headmistress of (name of school provided) asked me to take out my gold tooth before I can return to school.”
Her 15-year-old sister (name provided) also signed the statement as a witness, along with a probation officer attached to the childcare unit.
This newspaper has learnt from reliable sources that the man, whom many suspect to be older that 31, frequented the home at first under the pretext that he was visiting the child out of concern, given that she was involved in an accident as a passenger of a bus he was driving.
The two were reportedly returning from an outing at the creek when a truck slammed into the rear of the minibus in which they were travelling.
However, according to reports, the man’s visits to the home became more frequent, to the point where he would sleep at the home, with his bus parked outside all night.
This newspaper was also told that the girl’s father is known for encouraging his young daughters to get involved with older men.
At the age of fifteen, both of the teen’s sisters were married by Hindu rights to adults, and both have children.
Another issue that irks the community, as it relates to the parents at the centre of the fiasco, is the circumstances surrounding the death of the 13-year-old girl’s younger brother.
At the age of 12, the boy was reportedly sent to work with a man who owned a truck, and would leave as early as four in the morning to begin his chores.
If he did not wake up early enough, he would be beaten severely, residents claimed.
He was burnt while working, and subsequently spent an extended period in the hospital, where he succumbed.
A source within the Ministry of Human Services said that when the teen’s parents arrived to collect her after she had given the statement to welfare officers, they were overheard warning the girl, “I hope you ain’t tell them nothing.”

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