Probe of alleged cavity search of teenager at Ogle shelved source claims investigators unable to contact complainant

Investigations into the accusation of police conducting a cavity search last February on a 17- year-old female at the Eugene F Correia International Airport, at Ogle, has been shelved due to the unavailability of the victim.

A source told Stabroek News that they have made numerous efforts to contact the family for a statement from the victim but their efforts have proved futile. The source explained that because of this reason they were unable to complete their investigation and as a result it has been suspended.

Police spokesman Jairam Ramlakhan had told Stabroek News in March that the victim’s statement is the only piece of information investigators are awaiting in order to wrap up the probe.

However, the source close to the investigation told this newspaper that the investigators had reached out to an aunt of the teen, who resides in Guyana, but they were unsuccessful in getting a statement or making contact with the victim.

“It seems as if they are just brushing us off,” the source opined.

Meanwhile, when this newspaper contacted another aunt, with whom the teen is residing in Barbados, she explained that she had reached out to the Office of Professional Responsibility via telephone and had been unsuccessful in getting on to the investigators.

“I tried calling them and spoke with someone who asked me to call back. When I did, I did not get an answer,” the aunt recalled.

The woman further noted that her niece has started school in Barbados and at the present moment, she wants to leave her to “concentrate on her studies,” since the entire scenario “had her really depressed, [but] now she is much better.”

She further stated that the teen is expected to return to Guyana in August, but did not indicate if she would be contacting the police.

The teenager said that she had been subjected to a cavity search as she was preparing to board a flight to Barbados. The teen added that she had been singled out for a search by a female rank from the Police Narcotics Branch as she stood in a line of passengers who were preparing to board.

“When I went into the room I started to take off my clothes because she said it was a strip search. I stayed in my underwear. The officer came in the room and told me to take it off. She then told me to squat and cough three times, I did that and she took her finger and inserted it into my private parts,” the teen had related to this newspaper in a previous interview.

The teen had said that she did not report the search to anyone in authority in Guyana, but had immediately informed her aunt upon arriving at the airport in Barbados.

The young woman said she is seeking a public apology from the agency and the officer, and she would not allow the matter to go away, as she believes “it should never happen again to any woman….”