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Tonight, an 11-year-old girl who claimed she was raped will spend her second night on remand at the Youth Hostel at Mile 21 on the Western Highway. She was arrested yesterday on the instruction of the DPP who ordered that police charge her for abduction after she led her father to the young men who she claims raped her. Despite her complaint, those young men have never been charged for rape and instead the young complainant and her family have been facing a succession of criminal charges culminating in yesterday's abduction charge.
But all this domestic upheaval has not gone un-noticed, Fermin Olivera, the Director of Community Rehabilitation has been monitoring the case closely and today he told us that it is a travesty. From his perspective, the child has been doubly wronged: first she was taken advantage of by her attackers, and now she is being taken advantage of by the system. He explained.
Fermin Olivera, Dir. Of Community Rehabilitation
"Indications are, the preliminary
indications that we are getting, it looks like this child is being a double victim in this instance. One is that she is alleging that she has been sexually abused and I don't know if anybody has been charged based on her allegations. What we do is that she is being held for having unlawfully imprisoned the perpetrator who we believe is an adult right now."
Alfonso Noble,
What are you concerns with regards the processes taking place with her in terms of she's being doubly victimized by the perpetrator and now by the law it seems?
Fermin Olivera,
"Well I believe that there is what you can call a strict application of the law but very early in our dialogue with her and the information that we have had, because this is something that happened some time ago, she is really a victim in this instance. I am pretty sure that the best interest of the child was not even considered because right now she is in prison, in a sense, at the Hostel. So its just sad and unfortunate that these actions were taken against her. I met with her just a while ago, she is a very petite 11 year old child, she is crying, wants to be home, and I think there is some evidence that this girl has been carnally known and right now we are holding her as a criminal essentially. Right now we are looking at the specifics of the case. We are reviewing it, as we talk we have some people working on this, and very early we are planning on talking to different people so that this child can be reunited with her family. I think in the end when its all cleared up, we hope that she will be exonerated. In this instance this poor child is being a victim so we are planning on talking to some people and we're planning on contacting some people and present them with some information and have this child taken out of that institution. As a matter of fact under the Certified Institution Act, our Minister has the power to have that child taken out. So we're looking at the specifics right now and hopefully, as a last resort, that's one of the actions that I think we need to be prepared to take."
Alfonso Noble,
It seems that because her story holds some inconsistencies they are discrediting it.
Fermin Olivera,
"Well let me tell you something Alfonso, when you are talking to minors in these kind of situations it is normal that they would be afraid because they are fearing repercussions from their own parents. Its not easy to tell your parents what has happened to you. When you're working with children, its not like you're working with adults although even adults tend to hide because of the shame; it's a shame based kind of offense. So I wouldn't be entirely surprised that her information has been a little bit inconsistent. However when you look at the specifics of the case, if there is evidence that she was carnally known, she had been apparently a passenger in a vehicle and it doesn't take much thinking to know that this child is being used. When I say that she maybe was at the wrong place at the wrong time but there is no doubt in my mind that she is a victim in this instance, by whoever had some sexual intercourse with her and as well by the system unfortunately at this time."
Olivera gave his assurance that his officers are working on the case, trying to get the child out as soon as possible.
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