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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Children ' s Advocate ... ( Gleaner )...</span>
With hundreds of carnal abuse cases still unsolved, and allegations of accused persons relocating to other parts of the island to work with young people, Children's Advocate Mary Clarke is calling for the tracking and interdiction of "persons of authority", namely teachers, who are accused of sexually molesting minors. According to Clarke, accused offenders are sometimes removed from one school, but are rehired at another institution in the system because there is no database available to schools across the island to aid in doing antecedent checks."When there is an allegation of sexual abuse against a teacher, what happens? The teacher is not withdrawn (from the system). There are even cases where a teacher is dismissed at one school and turns up at another school and is employed. We have at least two reports of this," said a troubled Clarke.While highlighting that the Sexual Offences Act makes provision for a register of sexual offenders, which is yet to come on stream, Clarke added: "We need a tracking system of these alleged offenders so that they don't go to another institution and abuse other children. They should be interdicted until the case is dealt with, or the investigations are complete."We have gone to different levels," said Clarke as she highlighted a reported case of multiple sexual abuse of girls by a female teacher. "Where in the system is she now?" she asked. Most cases still pendingData from the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica show that between 2005 and 2010 the police received close to 2,800 reports of carnal abuse; many of them have not been cleared up.At the same time, statistics provided by the Office of the Children's Registry revealed that between 2007 and 2010, that statutory body received close to 4,000 reported cases of sexual abuse.Dwayne Cargill, research officer in the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA), noted that in the school system where teachers are hired and disciplined by a school board, the employment contracts of educators who are accused of child sexual abuse are sometimes terminated by the board without the tutor being convicted."As a result of the gaps in the system, such a teacher can then seek employment in other schools, and the cycle of abuse continues," he noted.Cargill continued: "There are those who remain in their current schools depending on the outcome of the school board hearing, if there is any at all. The OCA is of the view that teachers against whom there are credible allegations of inappropriate behaviour with children should be interdicted, similar to what occurs in the police force," he told The Sunday Gleaner. A member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force is interdicted if implicated in a matter that occurs while on duty. On the other hand, police personnel implicated in criminal acts not committed in the line of duty are slapped with suspensions. An interdicted policeman is sidelined and receives only three-quarters of his salary.
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Confirmed : Children ' s Advocate ... ( Gleaner )...</span>
With hundreds of carnal abuse cases still unsolved, and allegations of accused persons relocating to other parts of the island to work with young people, Children's Advocate Mary Clarke is calling for the tracking and interdiction of "persons of authority", namely teachers, who are accused of sexually molesting minors. According to Clarke, accused offenders are sometimes removed from one school, but are rehired at another institution in the system because there is no database available to schools across the island to aid in doing antecedent checks."When there is an allegation of sexual abuse against a teacher, what happens? The teacher is not withdrawn (from the system). There are even cases where a teacher is dismissed at one school and turns up at another school and is employed. We have at least two reports of this," said a troubled Clarke.While highlighting that the Sexual Offences Act makes provision for a register of sexual offenders, which is yet to come on stream, Clarke added: "We need a tracking system of these alleged offenders so that they don't go to another institution and abuse other children. They should be interdicted until the case is dealt with, or the investigations are complete."We have gone to different levels," said Clarke as she highlighted a reported case of multiple sexual abuse of girls by a female teacher. "Where in the system is she now?" she asked. Most cases still pendingData from the Economic and Social Survey Jamaica show that between 2005 and 2010 the police received close to 2,800 reports of carnal abuse; many of them have not been cleared up.At the same time, statistics provided by the Office of the Children's Registry revealed that between 2007 and 2010, that statutory body received close to 4,000 reported cases of sexual abuse.Dwayne Cargill, research officer in the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA), noted that in the school system where teachers are hired and disciplined by a school board, the employment contracts of educators who are accused of child sexual abuse are sometimes terminated by the board without the tutor being convicted."As a result of the gaps in the system, such a teacher can then seek employment in other schools, and the cycle of abuse continues," he noted.Cargill continued: "There are those who remain in their current schools depending on the outcome of the school board hearing, if there is any at all. The OCA is of the view that teachers against whom there are credible allegations of inappropriate behaviour with children should be interdicted, similar to what occurs in the police force," he told The Sunday Gleaner. A member of the Jamaica Constabulary Force is interdicted if implicated in a matter that occurs while on duty. On the other hand, police personnel implicated in criminal acts not committed in the line of duty are slapped with suspensions. An interdicted policeman is sidelined and receives only three-quarters of his salary.