9-year-old assaulted
Security officer charged after allegedly assaulting, attempting sex with child on UWI campus
Published:Thursday | April 25, 2024 | 12:10 AMAndre Williams/Staff Reporter
A KING Alarm security guard previously stationed at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona, Garden Boulevard entrance security post, reportedly made a failed attempt to rape a nine-year-old girl who, allegedly, he subsequently assaulted on the institution’s grounds.
The incident reportedly happened on Monday, minutes after 2 p.m. when the child was on her way to visit a relative on the university campus.
A source close to the investigation told The Gleaner: “She was walking and he told her that she dropped money, but it was he who threw the money to the ground. She told him she did not have any. When that didn’t work, he ran after her and held her against her will.”
Passersby reportedly heard the child screaming and went to investigate.
“He punched her in her face, held a knife at her throat, and pulled down her underwear. He attempted to penetrate her. That’s when another woman heard her screaming … . He ran away, leaving her. She was shaken when they rescued her,” the unnamed source told The Gleaner.
Maintenance work
The Gleaner visited the area on Wednesday where maintenance work was taking place to reduce the bushes in the pedestrian-only area that students, visitors, and staff utilise en route to the main campus area.
There was a new security guard at the location on Wednesday. Upon seeing our news team, he alleged that he had no idea that a colleague had been arrested and charged for the very serious offence.
The Gleaner has secured the name of the security guard who had been posted to man the area on Monday when the incident allegedly occurred as D. Wright.
Head of the St Andrew Central Police Division, Superintendent Marlon Nesbeth, confirmed that the security guard, who is in his 20s, was charged on Wednesday, with further charges pending.
“The child accessed the university campus, I’m understanding, to go to her relative when the security guard saw her, and I suspect he saw her in his hindsight as vulnerable. From information, I am yet to confirm this, he forced her into a remote area and we are sure he assaulted her physically,” SSP Nesbeth told The Gleaner.
“We are investigating arguments that it was a sexual attempt also. He ran away when the alarm was raised by the child, and persons went to her rescue, and subsequently, he was held during a search for him. He was brought to the police, and we are following up on investigation. He is presently charged for the assault as a fact, and we are looking at other issues as we unfold the investigation.”
According to information gleaned from checks, the UWI access point in question opens at 6 a.m. and closes at 9 p.m. daily.
The Gleaner understands that since the pandemic, pedestrian traffic through that area is not that heavy and is even more reduced at this time of the year when exams are approaching.
UWI offers to help victim
Director of Security at UWI, Norman Heywood, told The Gleaner that the university is cooperating with the police investigation and also engaged with King Alarm.
He said that they would reach out to the victim and offer counselling and whatever support that is deemed necessary. Heywood said similar treatment would be afforded the victim’s relative, who is employed to UWI and was also traumatised.
“I’ve actually started dialogue with them (King Alarm), and they have been cooperative, and we are going to be doing a review of the persons who they have selected to work on the campus ... just to ensure because they are the ones who would have done the recruitment for their security company, and UWI is a client. We would have contracted them and they would have provided us with the necessary security personnel,” Heywood said.
“We keep a record of the guards who are assigned here, but we would want to do some deeper background checks on those who are assigned on the campus to ensure that the quality of the security guards that we get is in keeping with the university’s standard,” Heywood said, adding that going forward, the UWI would be closely monitoring the guards.
“Since I have been here, this is the first we have had an incident where a security is actually involved in this type of offence,” Heywood told The Gleaner.
The King Alarm group, reportedly, has the largest contract to provide security services at the UWI.
In a release yesterday, the company said that they are aware of the “disturbing” allegations against one of their security officers.
King Alarm stated that upon learning of the allegation, the officer in question was “immediately intercepted by one of our King Alarm Armed Response teams and taken to the police for questioning”.
“KingAlarm will continue to cooperate fully with the police and the University of the West Indies in their respective investigations, and we await the outcome of same. The KingAlarm Group currently employs in excess of 4,000 security officers islandwide. Stringent background checks are conducted when hiring staff, and having a clean police record is a requirement for each officer prior to having them registered with the Private Security Regulation Authority (PSRA). The hiring process pertaining to the officer in question was no different,” the release said.
King Alarm also said that as a company, they would “always stand on the right side of the law”.
“We expect no less from each and every member of our team,” the release affirmed.