The Tribune

By SANCHESKA BROWN

Tribune Staff Reporter

sbrown@tribunemedia.net

EDUCATION Minister Jerome Fitzgerald said the Ministry of Education is investigating the alleged sexual assault of a 19-year-old student by four male juveniles.

Speaking outside of Cabinet, Mr Fitzgerald said he “became aware of the incident” on Sunday and immediately contacted the police.

“They informed me of the persons that they thought were involved, including the victim, and assured me that they were going to move swiftly to get to the bottom of it and if there was a need to bring people to justice they would,” Mr Fitzgerald said.

“They have been keeping me informed throughout. We expect we will hear something from it.

“It’s very troubling indeed. It’s very troubling for anyone to be exposed to that. Those kinds of things are happening and it appears that young people in our country think they can post everything on social media and it’s unfortunate. Technology is good if it is used for good, but unfortunately in times like this people use it to depict the most harrowing of circumstances. We will get to the bottom of it. The police are investigating and persons are assisting them and I’m sure we will hear the outcome of that shortly.”

When asked if the students will be expelled or suspended, Mr Fitzgerald said the Ministry of Education “will work with the police to see the nature of the charges and get a better understanding of the facts.”

Assistant Commissioner of Police Stephen Dean confirmed on Monday that four boys and a girl are in police custody in connection with the alleged sexual assault.

ACP Dean said a “full scale” investigation was launched after a video of the alleged assault was posted on social media on Sunday.

He said a formal complaint was made on Monday.

The video, which shows two young men and the alleged victim, engaged in a sexual act was shared more than 300 times on Facebook.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 911 or 919, the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 328-TIPS.

Investigations continue.