Protesters renew call for removal of City Hall officials

…Mayor, Town Clerk accused of hindering justice for 15-year-old rape victim

Not satisfied with the mere sacking of two City Constabulary officers who were implicated in the alleged rape of a 15-year-old lad, a group of protesters has again taken to the streets, positioning themselves opposite the City Hall on Thursday and accusing that administration of attempting to cover-up the heinous crime.
Numbering just short of 10, the well-known public demonstrators expressed their most recent grievance with the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) criticising the Georgetown Municipality of being aware of the sexual violation of the minor but failed to pursue the legal course of action.
Reports are that, on August 22, the 15-year-old was picked up off the streets after he was accused of loitering. The juvenile is contending that while in custody at the City Hall outpost, Lance Corporal Clifton Pellew (who has since been charged) took advantage of his authority and forced him to perform sexual acts.
After a post detailing the incident went viral on social media, the City Council took it upon itself to investigate the matter. Though initially disregarding the case for lack of evidence, the Town Clerk, just weeks ago, fired both Corporal Pellew and his colleague Quacy Baveghems, who by his reported silence was complicit to the crime.
Those actions by City Hall officials came two months after the crime was allegedly committed.
On Thursday, one of the protestors, Jonathan Yearwood, said, “I’m out here because our Mayor and Town Clerk decided that when this (incident) of rape of a 15-year-old took place in their City Constab, they decided to do their own investigations. They knew about this for more than two months and they did absolutely nothing about it.”
He added that while the constable has been charged, the Mayor and Town Clerk

should also be charged as accessories to the crime.
“We have to set example that nobody is above the law, and the law says clearly that if you know of a crime, you are obligated to report it to the Police. They did not do that,” Yearwood went on to say.
Also calling for the heads of the two principal officials at City Hall was another protester, Renatta Chakasan, who alluded to the Sexual Offences Act of Guyana.
In conveying her position on the matter, she noted that there are laws in place which dictate the course of action in dealing with sexual improprieties, and emphasized that neither the Mayor nor Town Clerk are above the law.
“This was a 15-year-old boy who was sexually assaulted, it’s alleged, by a man; and it’s reported to the Town Clerk and they’re like, ‘Oh, let’s have an investigation’. Since when is the Mayor and City Council charged with the responsibility of investigating allegations of sexual impropriety? That’s not their job. First thing that should’ve been done is that it goes to the police,” Chakasan told this publication.
With that, the Mayor and City Council once again comes under much public condemnation, as persons argue that strict actions were required from the moment the rape case was reported.
With Thursday’s protest being the third public demonstration against the rape case, the group has indicated that its members are dedicated towards the cause, and will continue to stage the gathering until their calls are answered.