Jamaica: Principal charged with sexual assault of daughter

(Jamaica Gleaner) The principal of an eastern St Andrew school is now on bail after he was charged recently for the alleged sexual abuse of his teenage daughter.

The police confirmed that the principal was arrested and charged by detectives from the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) on March 10.

Head of CISOCA, Senior Superintendent of Police Charmaine Shand, confirmed that the principal was charged with cruelty to a child and grievous sexual assault.

The accused is scheduled to reappear in court on Friday, April 24, 2020.

The Gleaner has not published the principal’s name to protect the identity of the minor.

The teen victim allegedly reported the matter to the guidance department at her high school, which subsequently sought the intervention of the police. It was not ascertained whether the abuse was a one-off instance or occurred over a period.

The child is now in state care, the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) told The Gleaner.

A representative from the Ministry of Education said that it was unaware of the incident and could not comment at this time.

Schools have been on break because of the new coronavirus outbreak.

There were approximately 15,000 cases of sexual and other abuse referred to the CPFSA in 2018 alone. This represented an 8.5 per cent rise on the 13,820 reports made in 2017.