CANU probing officer who sexually molested teenager

Ogle Airport alleged sexual assault

The Customs Anti-Narcotics Unit (CANU) says that it is probing a report which was lodged against one of its female ranks alleging that a sexual assault incident took place at the Ogle International Airport on Sunday morning.
The entity’s Head, Michael Atherly, who spoke to Guyana Times via telephone on Sunday afternoon, confirmed that a report was made about an incident.
While he did not have any specific details, he did say that if the reports carried in the press were accurate and a true picture of what transpired, then the CANU rank at the centre of the controversy would be probed for her actions.
Atherly’s comments came in light of concerns raised over the alleged incident which saw a 17-year-old girl being sexually assaulted over the weekend as she was about to depart Guyana for Barbados.
The girl was expected to visit her relatives on Sunday when she was allegedly subjected to a “strip search” by CANU officers at the Airport, before being placed in a room.
It was there that a female officer allegedly inserted her “finger” in the girl’s private parts. The CANU rank reportedly asked her to “spread out and cough”.
But Atherly has already condemned the officers’ actions as he stated that the search on the teenager was carried out in an improper manner.
“…the officers had a right to take the person to the hospital and have a certified doctor carry out that search. The action that was taken was incorrect and they had no right,” Atherly stated.
The young lady is said to be working along with Police and CANU officials as the probe continues.
This incident is being seen as important given the Shanique Myrie case which saw her being paid US$38,000 by the Barbadian Government after she alleged that she was sexually assaulted and raped by a female immigration officer in Barbados after being subjected to a cavity search.
Myrie was awarded damages by the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) after she filed a lawsuit claiming she was subjected to a dehumanising cavity search by the female immigration officer at Grantley Adams International Airport, locked in a filthy room overnight and deported to Jamaica in March 2011.
The CCJ had also ruled that Barbados should foot Myrie’s legal costs and said the action was a serious breach of her right of entry into that country.
Her plight was brought to international attention after the Jamaica Observer reported her ordeal. She had also complained that she was subjected to derogatory remarks from the female official who told her she was her ‘worst nightmare’.
“The lady took me into a bathroom and told me to take off my clothes. I did as requested. After searching me and my clothes she found no contraband or narcotics. She then asked me to bend over, open my legs and spread (my private parts). She said that if I did not comply, then she would see that I end up in prison in Barbados,” Myrie said.
“When I bent over and spread my (private parts) I felt something enter my (private parts) and when I looked between my legs I saw her gloved hand in my (private parts). I screamed and stood up. She then told me if I obstructed her doing a cavity search, she would have me locked up. I bent over again and spread. She again inserted her fingers and poked around. I felt like I was being raped. I was so hurt and ashamed. I felt dirty and defiled,” she said.
“I asked her who she was and she said ‘I am your worst nightmare’. She then said ‘All you (expletive) Jamaicans come here to do is either steal people’s man or bring drugs here’,” Myrie recounted.