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<span style="font-weight: bold">News Source: OTGNR - </span>
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Don ' t Give Bail To Accused ... ( Gleaner )...</span>
The New Nation Coalition (NNC) is calling for bail to be categorically refused for accused child sexual offenders, as such crimes appear to be increasing, reported victims are getting younger, and Jamaica is far behind other nations in its use of effective investigatory techniques."We are extremely disturbed to see that cases of child molestation are reportedly on the increase," NNC founder-convener Betty Ann Blaine said in a release yesterday. "People accused of child sexual abuse should stay behind bars until the cases are concluded. Abusers usually live in the homes or the communities of their victims: if the accused abuser is guilty, the victim is at serious risk if he is given bail - because he is likely to go straight back to the scene of the crime. Few of the victim's families have the resources to move the child, so the likelihood of a repeat is very great." No monitoringBlaine, who is also the founder of Hear The Children's Cry and Youth Opportunities Unlimited, claimed there is no monitoring or follow-up of accused abusers on bail in Jamaica."In the cases of convicted child sexual offenders, we are recommending very, very long prison sentences, not less than 20 years," she said."It is seriously disturbing, too, to see that the children in the cases of reported sexual abuse are getting younger, some as young as five and six years old. We also find it incomprehensible that DNA testing for such criminals is not mandatory in Jamaica - it is at the discretion of the judge."Blaine, noting the NNC's concern that little is known about local paedophiles, requested that the proper authorities disclose what type of psychological evaluation is being done on those convicted in Jamaica."Do we have any profile of who a paedophile is in this country? Can paedophiles be rehabilitated? And if so, how?" she asked."We are also asking, on behalf of Jamaica's children, why are we so far behind in the use of state-of-the-art crime detection, and where is the public-education programme to help parents to protect their children, and to teach children how to keep themselves safe from predators?"Blaine questioned whether the authorities are informed when an individual deported to Jamaica is a child sexual abuser and, if so, why the public is not warned when such an individual arrives in the island."We urgently need to step up our strategies for child protection in this very serious matter," she said.
<span style="font-weight: bold"> Don ' t Give Bail To Accused ... ( Gleaner )...</span>
The New Nation Coalition (NNC) is calling for bail to be categorically refused for accused child sexual offenders, as such crimes appear to be increasing, reported victims are getting younger, and Jamaica is far behind other nations in its use of effective investigatory techniques."We are extremely disturbed to see that cases of child molestation are reportedly on the increase," NNC founder-convener Betty Ann Blaine said in a release yesterday. "People accused of child sexual abuse should stay behind bars until the cases are concluded. Abusers usually live in the homes or the communities of their victims: if the accused abuser is guilty, the victim is at serious risk if he is given bail - because he is likely to go straight back to the scene of the crime. Few of the victim's families have the resources to move the child, so the likelihood of a repeat is very great." No monitoringBlaine, who is also the founder of Hear The Children's Cry and Youth Opportunities Unlimited, claimed there is no monitoring or follow-up of accused abusers on bail in Jamaica."In the cases of convicted child sexual offenders, we are recommending very, very long prison sentences, not less than 20 years," she said."It is seriously disturbing, too, to see that the children in the cases of reported sexual abuse are getting younger, some as young as five and six years old. We also find it incomprehensible that DNA testing for such criminals is not mandatory in Jamaica - it is at the discretion of the judge."Blaine, noting the NNC's concern that little is known about local paedophiles, requested that the proper authorities disclose what type of psychological evaluation is being done on those convicted in Jamaica."Do we have any profile of who a paedophile is in this country? Can paedophiles be rehabilitated? And if so, how?" she asked."We are also asking, on behalf of Jamaica's children, why are we so far behind in the use of state-of-the-art crime detection, and where is the public-education programme to help parents to protect their children, and to teach children how to keep themselves safe from predators?"Blaine questioned whether the authorities are informed when an individual deported to Jamaica is a child sexual abuser and, if so, why the public is not warned when such an individual arrives in the island."We urgently need to step up our strategies for child protection in this very serious matter," she said.