Dear Editor,
Could someone in authority tell the citizens of Georgetown how it is possible that the Town Clerk of Georgetown could have been in possession of reports of a serious crime having been committed by one of the members of his staff, and at a municipal location, and took two whole months to report it to the national police?
Is it not illegal to knowingly fail to report a felony in a timely manner? Can the Town Clerk not be charged for failing to report an offence that resulted in the statutory rape of a juvenile?
How is the Town Clerk, who is not legally trained and who is not a police officer, allowed to carry out his own investigation into the matter? And worse, hold a confrontation with the victim and the perpetrator, which could have only exacerbated the trauma that is being experienced by the juvenile; and then withhold this information from the Council and the authorities for two months?
How is the Town Clerk allowed to exclude the Childcare and Protection Agency of the Ministry of Social Protection from the matter? Is he not required under the laws of Guyana to report such an incident to this agency?
How was the Town Clerk allowed to keep the alleged sexual deviant on the job for a whole two months after the incident, hiding him at a remote municipal location in order to avoid him being seen to be working by his colleagues and workmates? Was he not obligated to interdict the man immediately upon the receipt of such a serious report, while the investigation was being undertaken?
How was the Town Clerk allowed to so glibly dismiss all the media reports, and to ignore the concerns being expressed by Councillors on the matter?
And finally, how is it that the Town Clerk was allowed to re-employ this alleged sex offender in the City Constabulary after he was dismissed for committing a similar act?
Sincerely,
James Mc Onnell
