Glenroy Sinclair, Staff ReporterWITH HIS chin cradled in his right hand, the tears welled up in the eyes of Senior Superintendent George Quallo as he watched footage of a video tape, in which a group of schoolboys gang-raped a teenage girl, in the presence of a 46-year-old church deacon.
The incident, which took place in a tinted van that was being driven by the deacon at the time, has left a deep emotional impact not only on the senior officer, but also on several other persons who viewed it.
A young journalist on internship at The Gleaner, who was a part of the news team that worked on the story, saw the video footage and later met the victim. The young journalist was later overcome by emotion and had to be treated medically.
HEART-RENDING
Senior news editor at Television Jamaica, Gillian Haughton, was also deeply moved. "It was heart-rending. Apart from feeling disgusted, I was on the verge of tears, after watching this child struggling against these men," she said.
CVM's Managing Editor, Milton Walker, said he was depressed after watching clips of the footage.
"I was shocked and horrified," said Mr. Walker, adding that there were parts of the tape which implied that a lot of sinister things might have taken place.
The footage showed two
bigger-sized boys pinning down the small-frame girl in the van and sexually assaulting her even as she called out to the deacon on several occasions for help. He did nothing. While this was happening, a third person was video- taping the act.
BITTER MEMORIES
A woman who was raped 10 years ago and saw parts of the footage on the CVM news cast Thursday night, said she cried for a moment, because it brought back some bitter memories of her ordeal.
Sunday Gleaner editor, Byron Buckley, excused himself from the viewing room after 10 minutes. The father of a teenage daughter, Buckley said he felt the sense of betrayal by the deacon, as the defenceless child cried out to him for help.
As a father of three girls and someone who has been covering the crime beat for almost 15 years, I was so disturbed by what I saw on the tape that I ignored my medication Wednes day night and had a strong drink. It was like watching my own daughter being gang raped. I did not cry, but felt bitter and just wanted justice for this poor girl.
