-boy was chained, locked away
A woman of Shieldstown, West Bank Berbice was arrested on Wednesday following reports that she was abusing her eight-year-old nephew while he was in her care.
The boy, who was at times chained and locked away, was rescued after his plight was highlighted on Wednesday during a seminar held for International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women at the Fort Wellington Boardroom. The Probation Department was contacted and officers subsequently informed police, who found marks of violence on the child’s body.
Stabroek News was told that the boy was removed from the home and is staying with an uncle.
The aunt has since been released and is expected to face charges at the Blairmont Court on Monday.
Residents spoke out on the abuse and torture that the child suffered at the hands of his aunt and an uncle [aunt’s brother] and said he was beaten with pieces of PVC pipes or other objects and even pelted for almost any reason. They said the child was beaten so badly that he would fall while trying to run away. At one time his nose also started to bleed because of the blows.
According to the residents, they used to hear the boy screaming but they were afraid to intervene. Because of the blows the child used to run away and the aunt and uncle “would leave him and when it get dark they would go and look for him.” Further the residents said that on weekends the aunt and uncle placed a large chain with padlock on the child to prevent him from going out in the village to play.
They also kept him locked up in a room in the lower flat of a house located in the same yard “from morning till night some weekends.” The child was also left alone at nights to sleep in the same room.
The residents said too that the boy was denied food by the aunt and uncle and used to go to the neighbours to get something to eat. Reports are that the child’s mother resides in the United States. She left in search of a better life and would support the child financially. His father, who is the aunt’s brother, is dead. Neighbours were unsure if the boy’s mother is aware of the abuse.
Meanwhile, residents said they visited the child’s school and informed his teacher as well as the head teacher but the abuse continued.
The residents who were angry at the aunt’s behaviour said “she has three children but she don’t treat them like that.”
Meanwhile, residents told Stabroek News that another woman, said to be an alcoholic, prevents her stepdaughters, aged nine and ten, from attending school. They said the woman would have the 10-year-old cooking on the fireside, while she drinks.
The stepmother and father also take the children in the backdam to catch fish to sell. If they do not take the children they would lock them out of the house without food until they return. In another case, an 11-year-old girl from the same village is pregnant for her stepfather. The man was arrested and charged with carnal knowledge at the Blairmont Court and has been placed on $600,000 bail.
According to reports the matter came to light two weeks ago after the child complained of feeling unwell and fainted at school. The teachers took her to the Fort Wellington Hospital and after she was examined it was discovered that she was six weeks pregnant. The child was questioned and she related what transpired. After the stepfather arrived at the hospital, along with the mother, to see the child he was arrested.
