The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE and EARYEL BOWLEG

Tribune News Editor and Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

THE woman who filed a complaint with police about a sitting MP alleges that he raped, choked, struck and made death threats against her and her family.

She said she went to police when she lost hope that he would change and feared for her life and that of her family.

“I’m having difficulty sleeping, difficulty eating. I’m having panic attacks,” said the woman, whose name is being withheld as she is an alleged victim of sexual assault and who will be referred to in this article under the pseudonym Jane Rolle. “Emotionally, mentally, it’s a lot to deal with,” she said.

Ms Rolle filed a complaint against the MP on April 7 in Grand Bahama. Until now, details of her allegations have not been publicly reported. The Tribune is withholding the name of the MP because he has not been charged with a crime.

Ms Rolle was accompanied by her mother, aunt and uncle when The Tribune spoke to her on Saturday. The family has travelled from Abaco to New Providence to deal with the matter that has uprooted their lives and sense of stability.

Ms Rolle appeared to be in a sombre mood.

She said she and the MP had been in a relationship for two years.

“The relationship has been good but it’s always been verbally abusive,” she claimed. “The physical didn’t start until September or October of last year when there were two incidents where he choked me until I passed out. There was another incident where he poked me in the eye, which he said was an accident.”

“He made threats of killing my family and making me watch, and then of killing me. There was also another incident in Nassau, the weekend of March 24, where we got into it and he held a knife to my throat and he almost stabbed me. I was terrified, I was afraid, I literally saw my life flash before my eyes. I was curled up with my hands, saying stop."

Asked why she stayed with the man after he allegedly became violent, she said: “Hope made me stick with it. I hoped that something would change and the relationship would get better and we could build a life together.”

Ms Rolle said the MP assaulted her again on April 4.

“He came by my residence. He forced me into my room, ripped off my jeans and underwear and forced himself on me. Before leaving my residence, he said to me that he came to kill us, but not enough of the family was in the yard. After that Tuesday, that Friday, I filed a report with the police. I was terrified.”

"I very much fear for my life. That’s the reason I made a complaint in the first place.”

Ms Rolle said she met Grand Bahama police officers investigating her complaint three times - on April 7, then on Tuesday and Thursday last week.

She said initially she was “thoroughly interviewed” for about four hours by “Superintendent Pinder".

“She was very professional,” she said.

On Tuesday, she met Assistant Commissioner of Police Bernard “BK” Bonamy, who assured her the matter would be investigated.

She said a Thursday meeting with the police left her believing officers would not charge the Progressive Liberal Party MP with a crime.

“They gave me the impression they’re gonna call him in, warn him, and I must bound him over [to keep] the peace,” she said. “The impression they gave is there wasn’t enough evidence to charge him because there wasn’t anyone around when these things happened to corroborate my story. They made it seem like it was just a 'he say, she say' story.

“I asked about the photo I gave them when he gave me the black eye. They said no one saw that happen, so it’s just my word against his.”

She said officers told her they hadn’t spoken to the MP yet.

She said after speaking with “Superintendent Weir” on Thursday, a deputy to the officer asked her to sign a document.

“In the statement they wanted me to sign, there was a portion that said I’m not taking further police action. After reading that, I told the officer to remove that because I knew this wasn’t going to end there. He removed that and I signed it.”

Ms Rolle showed The Tribune a copy of the statement.

She accused the MP of rape and death threats in the document and said he needed professional help. The statement referenced her difficulty sleeping and eating and her fears for her family.

It said: “I will also be seeking to have him bound over [to keep] the peace.”

Ms Rolle said she is intensely private and wants to put the matter behind her, but is pushing because she believes her action could save a life.

“I’m still trying to deal with the trauma of everything, having been with him so long,” she said. “My intentions were never to bring harm to him or bring him down, but I’m doing this because this could be used to save a life.

"It’s possible that someone else could be the victim of his violence. The next woman that comes along, she could lose her life. Many are looking in from the outside and passing judgement, but they don’t understand what it is I’m going through. They’re gonna hate me for doing this but if this can save a life, I’m okay with that.”

Asked about the complaint against him, the MP told reporters “no comment” at least three times outside the House of Assembly last week.

Asked yesterday if the MP had been interviewed as part of their investigation, ACP Bonamy told The Tribune: “I’m not going to comment on that. A complaint was made. It is being investigated and at some point later on when we have concluded, we will say exactly what took place.”