Rape victim changes story

One suspect charged, as rape figure climbs to six in St Ann

ONE OF the five women who were reportedly raped in St Ann in January has changed her account of what happened, according to Superintendent Dwight Powell, head of the St Ann police.

Powell made the revelation during his report to the monthly general meeting of the St Ann Municipal Corporation, held at the Anglican Church Hall in St Ann’s Bay on Thursday.

“I don’t want to get into the full detail but she has retracted her story,” Powell told The Gleaner after the meeting.

He said a suspect who was picked up, has now been charged and is soon to face the court.

“There’s somebody in custody right now. He was pointed out in an ID parade and so he has been charged for one of the rapes in Ocho Rios,” the superintendent revealed.

“We’re looking on him too for some other similar offences. At this juncture, we cannot release his name until we get those out of the way.”

Meanwhile, Powell said the rape figure for St Ann since the start of the year is now at six. He is appealing for information surrounding any of the cases and for persons who might be victims to come forward and report the matter.

“On record we have six. I don’t know if there is any more out there and if there is any more out there, then we’re urging the person to come forward and make the report. We know that it might bring a little bit of fear on them and stigmatisation, and many persons don’t like to make those kinds of report, but we are interested in them,” he added.

The six cases of rape on record include the woman who has retracted her story.

A series of rapes in St Ann in January caused a scare among women in the parish, which was heightened following a social media post that men were abducting women in Ocho Rios.

The police confirmed that there were five reported cases of rape for January.

Last year there was a 78 per cent increase in rape in St Ann compared to 2019, with the figure jumping from nine to 16.