Slowe intends to vindicate his reputation – lawyer

Sexual assault, fraud allegations

Chairman of the Police Service Commission (PSC), former Assistant Commissioner of Police Paul Slowe on Friday denied accusations of fraud and sexual assault levelled against him by the Guyana Police Force and said that he intends to defend himself.
Claiming that the allegations are false, Slowe through his lawyer, Selwyn Pieters on Friday said that he has had a distinguished 37 years of service as a Police Officer.

On Thursday, Slowe and eight other persons, including serving and retired officers of the Police Force were charged with conspiracy to defraud the GPF of $10 million. Slowe, on the other hand, is being investigated for sexually assaulting a female Assistant Superintendent, who worked with him.
Investigations conducted by SOCU revealed that former Commissioner of Police Leslie James hired several retired Police Officers, including Slowe to conduct a complete revision of the Guyana Police Force’s Standing Order in March 2019.
The former Top Cop never sent for nor received approval from the Permanent Secretary of the then Ministry of Public Security or the National Procurement and Tender Administration Board to execute the revision of the Standing Order.
It was revealed that over $10 million was paid to the retired officer but they did not provide the Police Force with a completed revised Standing Order. However, Slowe’s lawyer is contending that the allegation of conspiracy to defraud is fraud.
“Work was done on the Standing Order. There was no timeline on which the work was to be completed. The National and Regional Elections held in Guyana on the 2nd March 2020 caused the process to be suspended. In the lead-up to the elections, the location in which meetings were held became unavailable due to use by the Guyana Police Force for elections purposes,” Slowe’s lawyer said.
According to counsel, on March 11, 2020, the World Health Organisation declared COVID-19 to be a global pandemic, and the election situation in Guyana was resolved until August 2020.

Considering this, the lawyer added that due to the COVID-19 situation, meetings to deal with the finalisation of the Standing Order were not feasible.
Pieters added, “In addition, Mr Slowe has other duties in relation to his constitutional position as Chairman of the Police Service Commission and his paid employment which takes him overseas.”
Meanwhile, concerning the sexual assault allegation, Pieters made it clear that “The allegations of sexual assault levelled against Mr Slowe… is false.” He added that the claim that the officer who was allegedly sexually assaulted reported the incident to her superiors is also false.
It is alleged that between March and April 2019, a female Assistant Superintendent, who worked along with Slowe, was sexually assaulted by him three times.
The Police Force in a statement said that the sexual assaults were reported to an Assistant Commissioner of Police who failed to take proper action. It is alleged that the Assistant Commissioner told the female officer, “… Is I have to promote you.”
Slowe’s lawyer noted that his client is presumed innocent and will be pleading not guilty to these charges. The PSC Chairman vowed that his lawyers will be “vigorously defending this matter and look forward to the truth coming out in a court of law.”
“Because of the inflammatory manner in which the Guyana Police Force Corporate Communications Unit is peddling these false allegations, the public’s record must be set straight and also, to protect the character and careers of Mr Slowe, members of the Police Service Commission and Senior Police Officers,” the statement added.
Pieters accused SOCU and the Police Force’s Corporate Communications Unit of seeking to besmirch the character of his client and the other officers for “collateral purposes having to do with disciplinary matters at the Police Service Commission….and the promotion of Senior Police Officers that has occupied the court since January 2021.
“Mr Slowe also intends to vindicate his reputation from the defamation that is being peddled.” In the meantime, Slowe is yet to return to Guyana to answer the charges laid against him. The other serving and retired officers who were charged were released on monetary bail.