Fire demolishes house of alleged Timehri ‘rape’ victim

Nov 04, 2015 News

Almost two weeks after 34 year old Steffan Phillips came forward alleging that he was raped by a police officer, the man’s place of abode has now been reduced to cinders as a result of a fire on Monday last.

All that remains of Phillips’ house.

Phillips is currently out on bail for the charge of Breaking and Entering. At the time of Monday’s fire Phillips was reportedly in Berbice. He told this newspaper that while in the Ancient County, he received a telephone call from neighbours who informed him that his house, a two bedroom wooden building, located at Hill Foot Sand Pit, Kuru Kuru, Soesdyke/Linden Highway was on fire.
He reported that by the time he traveled to the scene, his house was completely leveled. Phillips estimated his loss at over one million.
Checks with ranks from the Timerhi Police Station and the Fire Outpost confirmed that investigations into the fire are ongoing. A rank from the Timehri Fire Outpost confirmed receiving a call about the fire at approximately 16:00hrs on Monday.
Phillips believes that the fire was deliberately set, and is anxiously awaiting the findings of the investigators.
On October 21st, Phillips came forward with the tale of being raped in the ablution area of the Timerhi Police Station after being arrested for Breaking and Entering the premises of one of his neighbours and carting off, among other things, a Television set.
He had related to Kaieteur News that after his detention in the station, he was removed from his cell by the detective overseeing his case and solicited to perform unprotected sex in return for his freedom.
However his story was later found to be a fabrication.
Subsequent interviews with neighbours revealed that the man suffers from hemorrhoids (commonly referred to as piles) and that it was a condition he would aggravate on purpose in a bid to garner sympathy.
Subsequent interviews with ranks at the station revealed conflicting details as to what really happened. One source said that while the man told the media that he was sodomized in the ablution area, he told detectives that he was raped in the station’s passage way.
“This man is ridiculous. He comes at the station and shows us how he bleeds and we sorry for him and give him money to go to the hospital and this is what he is going to do now. The police he said raped him is small built. He (Phillips) is twice the policeman’s size,” the source had said.
Stephan Phillips had once claimed to have witnessed the Colwyn Harding sodomy with a baton by a police officer in November 2013.
A day later, he had changed his story, stating that he did not see anything and that he had lied.