69-year-old man among three held for assaulting teen girls

Three men were expected to appear before magistrates in Princes Town and Scarborough on Tuesday, charged with sexual offences against a 13-year-old girl and a 15-year-old girl.

One of the men is 69 years old while the other two are 20 and 28.

The police, in a release, said the charges were laid after two separate investigations by led by ASPs Nowbutt and Sookdeo and supervised by Insp Francis and Sgt Miller of the Southern and Tobago Division Child Protection Units (CPU) respectively.

Southern CPU officers received a report from a 13-year-old girl that a man grabbed her breast and tried to kiss her. WPC Romilly investigated the complaint and arrested the 69-year-old man. He was expected to appear in the Princes Town court charged with one count of sexual touching.

In Tobago, the 15-year-old girl told police she was assaulted by two men. WPC Jackson investigated and arrested the 20-year-old and 28-year-old men. They were each charged with one count of sexual penetration of a child.

The latest alleged incidents follow the arrest of five men of central Trinidad by CPU officers during an anti-crime exercise in connection with a total of 63 sexual offences against minors. The men were denied bail when they appeared before Chaguanas magistrate Rajendra Rambachan on Monday.

Police said further investigations revealed that one of the men has also been charged for a similar offence in the United States.

“The CPU again renews its call for heightened vigilance from parents and guardians during this time in which children are home and remain vulnerable to predators. The CPU stresses that parents and guardians can never be too careful and should not leave children unsupervised or in the care of questionable adults.”