Principal of Tacky High offered bail in buggery case

TACKY HIGH School Principal Errol Bascoe, who is charged with buggery in relation to an incident at his home on February 29, was on Tuesday offered bail in the sum of $600,000 when he appeared in the St Mary Parish Court

Bascoe, who is also a former prospective candidate for the People’s National Party (PNP) in St Mary Western, was ordered by the court to surrender his travel documents and report to the police as part of his bail condition.

The educator, who had earlier described the allegation levelled against him as “scurrilous and malicious”, was charged last Sunday with buggery by the St Mary police but has remained at the helm of Tacky High despite several calls for him to step aside.

Speaking with The Gleaner this week, a representative of the Ministry of Education and Youth noted that any decision to remove or send Bascoe on indefinite leave lies with the school board, which has launched an investigation into the allegations made against the embattled principal.

In the meantime, Oswest Senior-Smith, one of the attorneys representing Bascoe, said his client is maintaining his innocence and that there are inconsistencies in the statement given by his 23-yearold male accuser.

Senior-Smith told The Gleaner that he highlighted certain discrepancies in the case against Bascoe during the bail application on Tuesday.

The discrepancies, according to the attorney, centre around a purported report by the investigating officer which was made public on social media. He argued that there are significant differences in the report said to have been generated by the investigating officer and the actual statement given by the accuser.

Bascoe, who resigned from the PNP in the wake of the allegation, is to return to court on May 14.