Teacher, security guard on sex charges against schoolgirls

A female teacher and security guard were denied bail when they appeared before a Tunapuna magistrate on Wednesday to face charges of sexual penetration and trafficking a minor for sexual exploitation.

A police media release on Wednesday said the 46-year-old teacher, who works at a private school, and a 35-year-old man, were jointly charged with the offences.

The teacher was additionally charged with two counts of sexual penetration at a school, two counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of trafficking a minor for sexual exploitation and one count of sexual penetration at a house in east Trinidad.

She received a total of nine charges.

The two appeared before magistrate Indra Ramoo Haynes in the Tunapuna magistrates court.

A report of sexual abuse and the trafficking of two 12-year-old schoolgirls was made to the Special Victims Department on November 3 by the principal of a school.

The report alleged that the girls were sexually penetrated on the school's compound by the teacher and then assaulted at another place in Malabar by both the teacher and the security guard sometime between September 1 and November 3.

An investigation was launched which revealed a sexual exploitation ring involving minors.

The teacher and security guard were arrested during the execution of a search warrant on December 13.

They were charged on December 18 after investigators received advice from legal officer Zaheer Ali.

They are expected to return to court on January 16.

The investigations were led by ACP Sharon Cooper and co-ordinated by Insp Wayne Stanley, Sgt Marlon Bishop with inquiries from WPC Kernisha Valere and the Child Protection Unit.

The investigation was also supported by acting Director of the Counter Trafficking Unit (CTU) Kimoy Thomas and officers of the Inter-Agency Task Force and the Cyber Crime Unit.