Cops: No sign of sexual exploitation at heliport

CoP Erla Harewood-Christopher -
CoP Erla Harewood-Christopher -

A media report of a Venezuelan female being allegedly raped by a member of the Coast Guard is being investigated, but so far inquiries at the Chaguaramas Heliport where she has been detained reveal no evidence of such, said officials of the Ministry of National Security at a briefing on Sunday.

"No sexual exploitation was disclosed at that location," said Supt Claire Guy-Allen, head of the Special Victims Department of the police.

Senior Immigration Officer Laura Ramcharitar said the woman was first held in a Freeport bar on March 27 as an illegal immigrant and then sent to the Heliport. Later, on April 4, she could not be accounted for during a headcount at the facility and was deemed to be missing.

Her boyfriend, in a social media post on April 6, alleged she was being abused. The police found her at a Chaguanas bar on May 26 after which she was sent to the Heliport under the care of the Counter Trafficking Unit, Ramcharitar said.

Guy-Allen said CoP Erla Christopher had asked her to inquire about any alleged misconduct at the Heliport. None was reported, she said, assuring that Heliport detainees had felt comfortable enough to speak freely. The woman remains under the care of the CTU, said Chaitaram.

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"Cops: No sign of sexual exploitation at heliport"

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