A five-year-old boy who attends the Santa Cruz School for the Blind has allegedly been sexually assaulted at the school and given a dinner mint by his attacker to stop crying. That matter, other incidents and safety issues for male and female students at the institution were raised by council members at the Blind Welfare Association Headquarters in Port-of-Spain during two meetings-one held on June 30, the other on July 7. It is now being investigated by officers of the Santa Cruz Police Station. The alleged incident involving the boy, Sunday Guardian learnt, was raised by council member Ivan Churaman at both meetings. According to reports, the youngster was playing with a group of boys-ages seven to 14-when he was made to remove his pants. One of the boys, police said, sexually assaulted the child. The boy, police said, screamed out and was given a dinner mint to stop crying. Contacted for comment on the incident, principal Derrick Mundy told Sunday Guardian he informed the Ministry of Education about incidents at the school. Mundy said: "Yes, I made a report to the Ministry of Education pertaining to certain incidents. I am not supposed to speak to the media. Any further information, please contact the ministry."
Maharaj: Authorities failing the disabled
But, first vice president of the Association Krishnath Maharaj has accused the relevant heads of failing to treat with the matter urgently. Describing the incident as "a sad state of affairs," Maharaj called on the authorities to immediately investigate the incident to prevent any recurrence. Maharaj said on learning of the incident, he contacted the Office of the President to inform Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards, the patron of the school, to inform her about what was happening at the institution. "I spoke to an official at the Office of the President about the assault on the five-year-old boy and she advised me to report the matter to the police. This was about three weeks ago. "I wrote to the office of the Commissioner of Police. I also spoke to ministry officials and was told to write a report. I thought it was necessary to inform Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards because she is the patroness of this school. I called on the council on two separate occasions to appoint a committee to investigate the incidents and to ensure that there is no repeat.
"We have to protect the children. I am shocked over what has happened. This is a very serious matter. We are supposed to be looking after the welfare of these children and some people seem to take it as a joke," Maharaj stated.
A report on the incident, Maharaj said, is also expected to be sent to the Ministry of the People.However, Maharaj said, because of his disability, he is unable to forward the report. "I informed officials in Minister Glenn Ramadharsingh's office of the incident and was told that I needed to submit a report. The issue is, I am totally blind and I have nobody to write a report for me to send to the minister," Maharaj explained.
Maharaj said he had also raised the issue of lack of supervision for female students during the night. "I learnt that on one occasion there was no female attendant at the school at nights. I urged council to appoint a committee to investigate why this happened and to ensure there is no such recurrence. There are girls at the school. This matter is of great concern to me because we cannot have girls there alone with males. "The Minister needs to urgently investigate what is happening at this school because we are responsible for these children. I have had to make the statement on several occasions if some people are only interested in getting a free lunch because nothing is happening. It is a sad state of affairs," an upset Maharaj added.
Ramadharsingh: I'm willing to assist
Confirming that he was aware of the incident, Ramadharsingh said the issue was raised with his permanent secretary. However, Ramadharsingh said because Maharaj failed to submit a report in writing, it posed a challenge. "At the time I was not informed of Maharaj's disability. He should have gotten someone to write the report for him." However, following the recent realignment of portfolios, Ramadharsingh said this institution no longer falls under his purview. "But regardless, the ministry is willing to assist in whatever way is needed because it involves a a disabled child. We are responsible for protecting the nation's children," he added.