MoE responds to alleged sexual assault video, "the boys were just playing"

UPDATED:

Video footage of an alleged sexual assault on the compound of a Port of Spain secondary school has been dubbed a hoax by officials within the Ministry of Education. The video which is less than ten seconds long surfaced on social media on Tuesday night and allegedly shows one male student being held down while another carries out a lewd act behind him. The student can be heard screaming throughout the incident.

Newsday contacted an official within the Ministry who confirmed that it was brought to the attention of the Minister and said the school supervisor for the Port of Spain school district has been notified and the parents of the students called in.

“The boys were just playing, this is the information that we have after the investigations. The Ministry takes all matters very seriously and while there was no disciplinary action taken against the boys, we are urging all students to be more responsible especially with video recordings. But the matter has been resolved in a manner that was satisfactory to the parents involved.”

Speaking on the matter at yesterday’s police press briefing, acting ASP and Public Information Officer, Inspector Michael Jackman yesterday urged persons who may be in possession of videos depicting assaults against minors to refrain from posting such items on social media as it could be harmful to the investigation and damaging to the child’s development.

“It is advised that persons in possession of such material should at once contact the nearest police station or the Child Protection Unit. It is not advised to have that material exposed to public scrutiny. At the end of they day, these may be children who need the protection and we need to consider their welfare and that is a mandate of the state.”

Newsday attempted to contact Minister of Education Anthony Garcia on the matter but was unsuccessful.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Video footage of an alleged sexual assault on the compound of a Port of Spain secondary school has been dubbed a hoax by officials within the Ministry of Education.

The video which is less than 10 seconds long surfaced on social media on Tuesday night and allegedly shows one male student being held down while another carries out a lewd act behind him. The student can be heard screaming throughout the incident.

Newsday contacted an official within the Ministry who confirmed that it was brought to the attention to the Minister and said that the School Supervisor for the Port of Spain school district has been notified and the parents of the students called in.

Stay with Newsday for more updates.