Sherwin Wellington, Deputy Regional Executive Officer (DREO) of Region 9 (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo), has been accused of raping a female senior official attached to that Regional Democratic Council (RDC).
The alleged incident reportedly occurred during last week, while the accused and the alleged victim were on a business trip to the Region 9 community of Karasabai on behalf of the RDC.
Guyana Times was on Thursday able to confirm with Region 9 Chairman Bryan Allicock that a report has been made at the Lethem Police Station regarding the matter, and an investigation has been launched.
“Yes, the Police (are) working on it,” he told this publication via telephone interview.
The Chairman explained that the report was made by the victim after she, Wellington and members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) returned from the
Regional Chairman Bryan Allicock
village, where they had travelled for an outreach programme on behalf of the Regional Administration.
“It was an outreach by the organisation, along with the Police and so,” he said.
However, when this publication made contact with Wellington, he blatantly denied knowledge of the incident. He also told the Guyana Times that he was never approached and informed that a report of this nature had been made against him.
During the interview, the Deputy REO did unconsciously admit that an incident may have occurred. After recognizing his slip-up, he reverted to his earlier act of deniability.
“We don’t know about that. No, I am not aware of that. If someone makes an allegation, it has to be reported to the station. There’s a procedure. I’m not aware of a report being made, and (I’m not aware of) the incident. If anything, the Police would have called me; they have not called me,” he posited.
Wellington further noted that he has never met with the Regional Executive Officer
Former Region 9 REO
(REO) in regard to this issue.
The Regional Chairman has however refuted these claims made by the Deputy REO, highlighting that he was informed that Wellington was spoken to by his immediate senior before a report was made to him [Chairman].
“We’re having ministerial visits, and we didn’t sit as yet to discuss, but the REO did that before he came to me to report,” the Chairman said.
Further inquiries revealed that the accused and victim are both still on the job. Probed as to a reason for this, Allicock posited that according to protocol, a matter of this nature is usually forwarded to the Permanent Secretary, who will then make a decision as to whether the accused should be sent on leave pending the outcome of the investigations.
Nevertheless, the Chairman expressed concern, as he highlighted that this is the second such incident to allegedly have occurred within the Region, and this type of allegation is contributing significantly to the “tarnishing of the image of the Administration.”
Moreover, he assured that the accusation will be brought up at the Council’s next meeting.
Back in 2016, then Regional Executive Officer of Region 9, Carl Parker, was accused of raping a female who was an elected official serving on the RDC Council.
Parker publicly denied the claim. However, shortly after, it was reported in the media that some 1200 residents in the region had petitioned President David Granger for Parker’s removal, as he was accused of discriminatory practices and “unprofessional conduct.”
That petition, dated April 11, 2016, detailed some 13 accusations against the former REO – most of which were of sexual harassment.
