COP CHARGED WITH ABDUCTING, RAPING TEEN
A33-year-old police sergeant was offered bail in the Corporate Area criminal court on rape and abduction charges last Friday. The sergeant was offered bail in the sum of $300,000. Allegations are that the policeman, who at the time was stationed in the west Kingston area, offered the 16-year-old complainant a ride from where he was stationed.
He allegedly took her against her will to the Palisadoes main road, where he sexually assaulted her. In applying for bail, his lawyer Peter Champagnie urged the court to consider that his client, in a formal interview in June, denied the allegations and from then had been aware of the possibility that he would be charged but kept himself readily available to the authorities.
Champagnie, while being careful not to disclose the identity of the complainant, also questioned the frequency with which the girl had been attending the station for no lawful purpose.
The cop is due to return to court on November 29. college. There is no way you would find these kinds of roads at the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force) headquarters,” he said.
Another lawman told THE STAR that the road is damaging his personal vehicle, as front ends especially are taking a beating.
“A weh day mi buy a new vehicle. It come down from Japan, and because a di road, when mi a drive it now, it start give problems already,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Patrae Rowe, chairman of the Police Federation, said that his organisation has been lobbying for years to get the road fixed.
“We have been advocating for better roads at the college for some time now. And the resources we have got have been very diplomatic and bureaucratic, in that, the response has consistently been that the project has been put for tender. We have been getting this response for a year going to two years now from the government,” he said.
He added: “Every single opportunity, we speak to the minister as a federation. We have reminded him that the roads are in such a bad condition that they need to be a priority. The minister has consistently assured us that the road will soon be fixed. It is very concerning that the minister’s word is appearing to be without meaning,” he said.