(Jamaica Observer) Despite hefty and damning allegations levied against Keita Stephens, his spouse is hell-bent that his human rights ought to be maintained while he sits in a Corporate Area lock-up awaiting his date in court.
Stephens, a day-care operator whom she defends wholeheartedly, faces a jaw-dropping 212-count indictment. He was charged with 57 counts of importing drugs without a licence; 56 counts of distributing drugs without a licence; 33 counts of fees not paid to the Ministry of Health; 17 counts of breaching the Food and Drugs Act; 16 counts of having drugs not registered with the Ministry of Health; 13 counts of dispensing drugs without a licence; nine counts of breaches of the Pharmacy Act; four counts of selling a list of drugs without a prescription; two counts of breaches of the Customs Act; two counts of not being registered as a pharmacist; two counts of [operating] a premises not registered as a pharmacy; and one count of unlawful possession of property.
This is Stephens’ second run-in with the courts, after appearing before Senior Parish Judge Lori-Anne Cole-Montague in August 2022 for sex-based offences. The man, in his early 50s, was arrested and charged following a 2020 incident in which he is alleged to have plied a 13-year-old with liquor and touched her privates before taking her to his house where he allegedly offered her money in exchange for sexual intercourse.
The woman, unmoved, criticised Jamaican police and questioned whether they were equipped with “intangible traits”, during life or training, that would foster basic human dignity.
“I am expecting them to be professionals and act as such. As I clearly remember, on one of my visits when I asked why was my loved one being denied water, I was shouted at by the police, disclosing openly the allegations of my loved one in front of the other visitors. I was shocked. What happened to confidentiality?” the angry spouse told the Jamaica Observer last Wednesday.
“I am an educator for over 25 years; I have served my country for most of my tenure. I have served in education in the United States. I have been an ambassador for Jamaica via the vehicle of education. I have lived with both the elite and those who were, according to our society, the not-so-elite, but I have never been treated the way I have observed how our Jamaican police treat persons,” she went on.
Stephens was charged by investigators following raids of his Kingston 19 premises on July 3, 2022 and July 13, 2022. According to the police, more than 20,000 sexual performance enhancement pills — including Viagra, prescription drugs and female birth control pills — were found.
His loyal woman is insisting that he be treated with care in jail.
“My experience has been ongoing for over a period of months. I trusted my Heavenly Father to take the matter that my loved one has been charged with through our justice system, as I totally expected our able professionals to handle the matter at hand fairly. Hence my shock and dismay when I visited the Kingston lock-up where my loved one is being detained,” the woman said.
She alleged that during her early visits to the lock-up she tried to ask questions, but the police would “try to put me down”.
“I realised how inhumane detainees were being treated when I would go to visit. I would take his food, which was [a] simple snack, and I would be asked not to send in a certain amount of food. I would often explain that my loved one is on medication and is being seen at hospital, as he had a condition which would require him to drink a certain amount of liquid, especially water, daily. I would take five bottles of water and the officer would try to deny me sending him water,” she told the Sunday Observer.
She said she asked why Stephens was not allowed water, and she was informed that only one or two bottles of water would “do for him”. She said this continued even after she took a prescription from his doctor which stated that he is supposed to receive at least five bottles of water for the week.
