‘Zero tolerance’ for sexual misconduct within GPF – Walrond

– says several officers before OPR as probe continues at Police Training College

In light of the emergence of images allegedly depicting a senior police rank in a compromising position with a junior female rank, Home Affairs, Oneidge Walrond, has made it clear that such acts amount to criminal misconduct under Guyana’s law.

The Minister was responding to a question about the photos on Monday but she reiterated that there is zero tolerance for senior police officers who engage in sexual relationships with their subordinates while adding that under the Sexual Offences Act, any sexual relationship in which one party holds a position of power or authority over the other is considered an abuse of that position, thereby negating the element of consent. Drawing parallels with sexual relations involving minors, the Minister added that just as a minor cannot legally consent to a relationship with an adult, the same principle applies when a power imbalance exists within professional or institutional hierarchies such as the police force.
“If the person who has the relationship, well, alleged relationship, they call it a relationship, but they’re saying that the consent element does not exist if you are in a position of power. That power dynamic removes the element of consent where sex is concerned. Similarly, with having sexual intercourse or what people would call a relationship, an inappropriate relationship with a minor, because of her young and tender age, the element of consent does not arise. A person that age cannot consent to a relationship with an adult female. Same way with the power dynamic. The Sexual Offences Act is very clear about that.”
The Sexual Offences Act of Guyana (Cap. 8:03) contains several provisions that make it a criminal offence for anyone in a position of power or authority to exploit that position for sexual gain. While the law focuses heavily on protecting minors, its key principles apply broadly to situations where consent may be influenced by fear, coercion or an imbalance of authority — including cases where senior police officers engage in sexual relationships with their juniors. Under Section 7 of the Act, the law clearly sets out situations where a person cannot be said to have freely consented to sexual activity. Among those circumstances is when there is an “abuse of a position of power or authority.” In plain terms, this means that if a senior officer uses their rank, influence or control over a subordinate to obtain sex, the law can treat that conduct as non-consensual — even if there was no physical force.
While the Act’s strictest penalties apply to offences against minors, the broader principle of abuse of authority applies to all public officials, including members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF). In this regard, when asked about the latest developments regarding reports of sexual misconduct at the Police Training College, Walrond confirmed that several officers have been removed from their positions and are currently before the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR).
Against this backdrop, the Minister reassured female members of the GPF that mechanisms exist to safely report acts of misconduct or victimisation by senior officers. “Those officers are currently being disciplined. There are matters before the OPR, and they’ve been removed. Immediately as the reports came to our attention, it was dealt with,” “Well, I have seen and met many young female police officers and older police officers who are having a fulfilling and thriving career and time in the Guyana Police Force. When what young women, as you say, if that is a concern that they have, that they should know that the powers that be will deal very, very strongly with these kinds of matters. If it is that they feel that they are in a position where they are being victimised sexually, that they should just be able to report it and the mechanisms are in place to make sure that these older officers are dealt with in the strictest manner. It’s a no-tolerance approach to those kinds of things,” she added.