Police gathering info on complaint against Bishops’ teacher
The police have already begun gathering information on the case concerning Bishops’ High School teacher Coen Jackson, acting Commissioner of Police David Ramnarine said yesterday.
Ramnarine stated that they have received information from the “appropriate officials” on the matter, who he mentioned would have already spoken to the press. Investigations into the matter continue.
Last Monday, an official complaint was made to the Chief Education Officer Marcel Hutson by Cultural Policy Advisory Ruel Johnson against the teacher. On Friday, the matter was handed over to the police by the Ministry of Education.
Jackson, an Economics teacher, has been accused of preying on his students and grooming them in preparation for a sexual relationship.
It was claimed by Jackson that the allegations, which were made against him by Cultural Policy Advisor Johnson, were rooted in personal grievances between the two, including a past relationship he shared with Johnson’s partner.
The woman at the centre of the complaint, Cris Smith, in a Facebook post on Sunday, broke her public silence, saying that she now believes that she was preyed upon by Jackson.
Smith signaled that her relationship with Jackson began while she was still in school, contrary to his claim that he has only been involved with two former students of the school, and only after they left the institution.
Smith’s statement is the first public statement made by anyone professing to have actually been involved with Jackson. However, several persons have made claims via social media that he would make use of sexual innuendos during his lessons, and one person alleged that he attempted to solicit sexual favours from her in exchange for assistance in a class.