Two senior staff members of a private security company were denied bail yesterday when they appeared in court charged with over a dozen charges related to the human trafficking and prolonged sexual assault on a 17-year-old St Vincent national.
Keston Pollard, 25, and 38-year-old Eddyson Gonzales, both of Mansoor Gardens, Cunupia, were not called upon to plead to the charges when they appeared before Magistrate Gail Gonzales (no relation) in the Port-of-Spain Magistrates' Court. Pollard was slapped with seven charges for sexual penetration, one for receiving a child for the purpose of exploitation and one charge for common assault.
Gonzales was charged with three charges of sexual penetration and for common assault. Pollard and Gonzales are alleged to have committed some of the assaults on the victim together at their home.According to police reports, the Counter Trafficking Unit began investigating the duo after the teenager reported them to police after spending over a month in their custody. She told police she came to T&T in May after being offered a job with the security company but when she arrived she was taken to the house where she was held against her will and sexually assaulted over a two-week period.
She was allegedly only allowed to leave to take up duties at a job site in south Trinidad and was forced to return after. She managed to contact police after informing a co-worker of her plight. The victim is currently in the custody of the Children's Authority. The duo will reappear in court on July 15 when the court will reconsider bail.