Member of Parliament for South Trelawny, Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for the increased prevalence of sex crimes against children in Trelawny.
According to the police, Trelawny has seen a 100% increase in sexual offenses since the start of 2023.
There are 16 reported cases of sexual offenses in the parish so far this year, compared to eight in the same period last year.
The Member of Parliament for South Trelawny said there is a rising trend of men having unlawful sex with minors in return for favors.
Mrs Marisa Dalrymple-Philibert, Member of Parliament for South Trelawny, spoke on Nationwide@5 on Wednesday, September 6, 2023.
Meanwhile, the Child Protection and Family Services Agency, CPFSA, noted that the number of incidents involving child sex abuse in Trelawny is more significant than that reported to the police.
Director of Programmes at the CPFSA, Dr. Warren Thompson, said the agency’s data show more than 50 cases of sex crimes against minors since the start of the year.
Dr. Thompson emphasized that close relatives and community members rank high among the perpetrators of sexual abuse cases against children.
Dr. Warren Thompson said the culture of silence around the reporting of cases of sexual abuse must change.
Children’s Advocate Dr. Diahann Gordon Harrison said the government could reduce the frequency of sex crime against minors in Jamaica by creating and publishing a profile of sexual predators.
Police charged a suspect with taxi operator murder in Copperwood, St. James.
ST JAMES, Jamaica – Detectives in St. James charged a suspect with multiple breaches of the Firearms Act after he allegedly shot and killed a taxi operator in Copperwood, St. James, on Friday, September 1, 2023.
The police identified the deceased as Maurice Anthony McLaughlin, a taxi operator.
The police charged Alanzo Vincent, age 23, a resident of Rose Heights, St. James, with murder, possession of a prohibited weapon, unauthorized possession of ammunition, and using a firearm to commit a felony.
According to police reports, McLaughlin was driving his grey 2013 Toyota Voxy motorcar along the Cambridge main road when Vincent, a passenger in the vehicle, reportedly brandished a handgun and opened fire, hitting McLaughlin in the head.
Then Vincent dragged McLaughlin out of the vehicle onto the roadway and drove the car away.
Good Samaritans found McLaughlin and assisted him to the hospital, where the authorities pronounced him dead.
The police were alerted, and McLaughlin’s vehicle was seen in the Roehampton community. The police pursued the suspect, and he drove the car into a ditch and fled, leaving behind a .40 Ruger pistol with a magazine containing four .40 cartridges.
The police subsequently arrested the suspect. And they charged him on September 6, 2023, following a question-and-answer session in his attorney’s presence.
His court appearance date is pending.