Police officers went to the St Mary’s Children’s Home in Tacarigua on Wednesday, as their investigations into the 1997 Robert Sabga report into abuse at children’s homes across the country grew wider.
Officers also visited the St Dominic’s Children’s Home in Belmont for the second time in as many days yesterday.
On Monday, acting Senior Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne, who is heading the investigation into the contents of the Sabga report and the recent Justice Judith Jones Report, led a team of about a dozen officers to St Dominic’s in the company of three victims who claimed to have been sexually abused at the home during their stays there.
Guy-Alleyne and her team also visited the St Mary’s Children’s Home yesterday.
The officers plan to visit other children’s homes named in the Sabga report as part of their investigations.
“Investigations are continuing into the Sabga report. We are dealing with that right now and it will take us to different homes,” Assistant Commissioner of Police Sharon Cooper told Guardian Media yesterday.
Guardian Media Limited yesterday contacted Sabga, the chair of the Cabinet-appointed 1997 task force, for his comments on the latest developments with respect to the case.
“I am very pleased. It took them long enough, but I am very pleased that finally, something is happening,” Sabga said.
Sabga said he is pleased that law enforcement is also getting assistance from the victims.
“One of the things that I called for from the beginning when all of this came back into the news, was that there should be some kind of truth and reconciliation, a series of public hearings which would allow the victims from that period to come forward, let them give their victim statements because those are the only things that will constitute evidentiary proof, Sabga said.
Sabga said the mere fact that victims have been able to point out what happened and where, now constitutes “evidentiary proof.”
“Which is what we could never do when we did our investigations which led to that report,” he said.
“Everything we had, because we never were witness to the actual abuse, this is the key point you know, everybody keeps saying why did you all not do anything. We did everything we could but because we were not witness to it, at best all we had were allegations. It is not the same as evidentiary proof in the law,” Sabga said.
Sabga said all the team could do was make recommendations based on all of the evidence they gathered.
The Cabinet-appointed Sabga-led task force included Diana Mahabir-Wyatt, Halycon Yorke-Young, Basdai Gayadeen-Catchpole, Valerie Alleyne Rawlins and Sita Beharry.
“Our report is 25 years old. I was originally stunned that it was even relevant anymore, but I am very pleased, despite the fact that so much time has passed, I am very pleased that finally, those victims are going to find the kind of justice that we wished we could have brought to them,” Sabga said.
“A lot of people ask me if I have any regret. My only regret is that we could not do more than we did. That was my only regret because I feel as though in some way, these kids, because they were kids at the time, all we could do was document and make our recommendations, we could not arrest anybody, we could not do any of those things. So, I am grateful. At least now, they are getting some kind of justice.”
Meanwhile, David Millette, the lone journalist who broke the story on the Robert Sabga Report then, says he too is happy that something is finally being done.
Millette, who worked at the T&T Mirror when he broke the story back in December 1997, said when he got the troubling Sabga report, his informant told him the contents were being swept under the carpet.
“It’s good to see that something seems to be happening now. Better late than never. If those persons who were affected by it can get some justice even this late in the day... they say justice delayed is justice denied but in this case, it should bring about some closure for these people and that ought to be good,” Millette said.
“I am happy that something is being done at this stage and let’s hope that there is a follow through and that they could bring it to some positive end for everybody,” he added.
So far, police have not arrested anyone in connection with the investigations in the Sabga report.
However, the police said although the matter is 25 years old, charges can still be laid indictably against the accused abusers. This is because the officers said there is no statute of limitations in the matter.
