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Poverty to Prosperity
Budget Presentation
Gordon House March 19, 2015
25
Law against Grooming
There appears to be a growing trend of female adolescents being murdered, with the
perpetrators are adults; in sometimes family members. These victims were often times
impregnated by their killers.
We as a society must come together and reverse this negative trend.
In my own constituency we had a case where a 31 year old killed a 13 year old who was his
girlfriend. I recently visited St. Thomas where a pregnant 14 year old was brutally murdered
and there are several other disturbing incidents that we see on the news.
Mr. Speaker, the last JLP government amended the Sexual Offences Act to make the sexual
grooming of a child a crime. The Police must use this law Act to arrest these predators.
(NB. Sexual Grooming of a Child is when an adult cultivates an inappropriate relationship
with a child for sexual purposes)
We cannot, as a society, continue to allow our children to be abused and
murdered.
In Station Court Arraignment
Mr. Speaker, our courts are clogged and while we must reduce the back log over the
medium to long-term there are quick solutions to reduce this problem. In other countries,
suspects are no longer taken to court for their arraignment but do so via video conference
with a judge.