Scores of people on social media yesterday called on the police to investigate a claim by a boy he was sexually assaulted by two men at a house along the East/West Corridor. The boy made the claim in a short video which was posted online which went viral.
In the video, the boy seems to be sitting on a stool at Independence Square, Port-of-Spain, and calls the names of his attackers. He also gave a description of his assailants down to the shoes they were wearing. Neither the boy’s age nor if any of his relatives were aware of the attack at the time the video was made could be determined by the short clip.
But social media users yesterday expressed outrage and disgust over the video and the person who made it, noting that individuals may have known the boy’s attackers. Contacted on the issue, Assistant Police Commissioner Carlton Alleyne called for relatives of the boy to come forward and make a report.
In a brief telephone interview yesterday, Alleyne said: “He can’t give consent at that age to have sexual interaction. If his parents are aware they should make a report and investigate the matter. “On what information they have they should get involved and do something. It is wrong if they are interfereing with a young person.
“That can’t be right and can be put right by persons if they are aware and let them report it to the police and do an investigation.” Also contacted yesterday, public education and communications manager of the Children’s Authority, Cheryl Moses-Williams, said she was not aware of the video and asked for a copy.
However, in a press release yesterday evening the authority said it found the content of videos circulating on social media involving children very disturbing. It said once videos were brought to its attention it would contact the Child Protection Unit of the Police Service to conduct investigations and put its own emergency response team on standby to support the police.
It added that if it was determined the children involved in the videos were in need of care and protection, the authority would intervene. The authority also reminded the public that child protection was everybody’s business and urged the public to report videos of child abuse to the police.