A Lance Corporal attached to the City Constabulary accused of raping a 16-year-old boy was on Monday remanded when he appeared before the Georgetown Magistrates’ Courts.
The corporal, Clifton Pellew, stood before the Chief Magistrate, Ann McLennan.
The charge stated that on August 15, 2017, at the Constabulary Outpost at City Hall, he engaged in sexual activity with the minor.
According to reports, the teenager who had been taken into custody after he was found loitering was taken to the outpost on Regent Street when the incident occurred.
Another officer attached to the City Constabulary, Quacy Baveghems had reportedly witnessed the crime and reported to his supervisor; the information was subsequently conveyed to Mayor Patricia Chase Green and Town Clerk Royston King.
However, as an investigation began into the matter, it was discovered that Baveghems did not make a written entry of the incident in the station diary.
Pellew and Baveghems were fired, after receiving a letter signed by the Town Clerk.
Mayor Chase Green had said that the decision to dismiss the officers came following the discovery of new evidence.
Following protests by activists in Guyana and calls for Pellew to face the courts for his crime, the matter was handed over to the Police who sought legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
Guyana Times was told that after reviewing the file, the DPP has advised that Pellew be charged with the rape of a child under the age of 16 years. Protesters also called for the Mayor and Town Clerk to be criminally charged for failing to report the matter immediately.
