$15,000 and seven years in prison
By Joel Julien (Express).
REPORT IT OR GO TO JAIL
SEVEN years in prison and a fine of $15,000 is the punishment parents, doctors, nurses, teachers and employers face if they have reason to believe a minor is sexually active and fail to report it to the police.
This was the reminder given by Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar yesterday during a news conference held at the Noor Hassanali room in the Parliament Chamber, Waterfront Complex, Port of Spain.
Persad-Bissessar’s reminder came on the heels of startling statistics revealed by Education Minister Dr Tim Gopeesingh in the Senate on Tuesday where he stated there are over 2,500 teen pregnancies each year with most of them for fathers in the 25-to-40-year age group.
Persad-Bissessar said, according to the law any sexual act against an unmarried child under the age of 16 is considered rape.
According to Section 6(1) of the Sexual Offences Act anyone who is found guilty of having sex with a female under 14, who is not their wife, is liable to be imprisoned to life in prison.
Section 7 (1) of the Sexual Offences Act says a first-time offender who has sex with a female between the age of 14 and 16, who is not their wife, is liable to 12 years in prison.
A repeat offender faces 15 years imprisonment, Section 7(1) states.
Persad-Bissessar described rape of minors as “heinous” and said no excuses should be tolerated.
“They are heinous crimes against children, six-year-olds, seven-year-olds, a child’s life is gone forever,” Persad-Bissessar said.
She chastised those who may seek to blame the minors.
“I will not entertain statutory rape of a child and use the excuse that the child too hot. No excuse and no exception, I am not going to tolerate that at all,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said according to Section 31(1) parents, guardians, attendants, employers, teachers, doctors, nurses and midwives, who know a minor is sexually active, have a legal obligation to report the incident to the police.
They face seven years in jail and/or a fine of $15,000 if they fail to do so, without a “reasonable excuse”.
Persad-Bissessar said failure to carry out that legal obligation is a “very serious offence”.
She said this law overshadows any professional obligations doctors feel they may have to about patient confidentiality.
“Ignorance of the law is not a defence,” Persad-Bissessar said. “I am appealing to those people who have that legal obligation to obey the law and make the reports.”
Persad-Bissessar said she understood that reporting these situations may be difficult for mothers but the law is the law.
“Mothers are under legal obligation to report (incidents of minors being sexually active) but I can well imagine the emotional trauma that may cause, but again if it is a crime it is a crime,” she said.
Persad-Bissessar said the Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development has been mandated to embark on a public education programme in order to help reduce statutory rape and teenage pregnancies.
The terms of reference of the Child Protection Task Force will also be amended to address the situation.
A Child Protection Unit in the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service is also being considered.
