Sexually abused as a minor and still seeking justice

Dear Ms Macaulay,

I have had a burning issue for years that seems to be unsolvable. I am male and was sexually harassed by a man from my community at the age of 14. Initially he protected me and honestly I was happy as I was always treated like a nobody so it was a great feeling that he came and protected me. My parents were not around often and I lived with my father and stepmother in a violent home. This man harassed me and after I was sexually harassed I told my father about it that same night and out of fear he advised me to keep quiet. I did not listen to him and started telling everyone about it the next day. Eventually the man got wind of it and he tried to kill me but failed. I reported the matter to the Child Development Agency (CDA) and was sent to a boys’ home. I have only been to court once. That was 2014 and now it is 2024 and I still have not received any real justice. The man is still at large and I am still suffering. I have tried several times to reach the police officer who handled the case and I was told that the officer was transferred and there are no records to show that the case is actually still being handled. Now I want to know what else I can do to get justice before I plan my act of revenge that will make me a wanted man. The system has failed me and I am frustrated.

It is very unfortunate that your complaint could not be heard in the Family Court when you were brought there. You say the system failed you, but revenge is neither a good nor a sensible idea because even if you were unsuccessful in your case against him, your attempt alone would be enough to send you to prison. And you are wrong to conclude that the system failed you. The system is inanimate; it is the people who work within the system who bring about success or failure through their actions.

I can understand how frustrated you must have been all these years because no one you reported the man’s abuse to did anything – not even your father, who was afraid to do or say anything, leaving you with the opportunity to talk openly about it.

You say you reported the matter and yet the man was not arrested for first harassing you and then attempting to kill you. It seems that this office did nothing about the crimes committed against you. It seems to me that you were sent to the youth home and taken to the family court because they thought you only needed care and protection. A new date must have been set for you to be taken to court again because your case would not have been heard at your first appearance and all the necessary witnesses would have had to be heard when your case was processed and heard.

I do not know why you were not brought back to court. This failure was caused by the officials at the boys’ home, the court office and the CDA officer who was supposed to appear in court that day to hear your case. And it was your own fault because you did not make a note of the next date you were supposed to appear in court and did not inform the officials at the home. It is clear from your letter that you remained silent.

They also say that you tried to reach the police officer in the case without saying how and when that police officer got involved in your matter. Was it the police officer in the family court room? Because you never said that you reported the matter to any police station. They also say that there was no record to show that your case was actually in process and with that last statement they would have said that there was no record of your complaint.

What else can you do to get justice? You can go to the Family Court office where you were taken and request a search of your case. You will have to give them the date, day, month and year of your court date and I hope you remember these details. If not day or month then at least the year. There should be a record of your appointment. The CDA should also have a record of your report to them and their decision to put you in the home. When and if you receive any information about your complaints from either the CDA or the Court’s office or both then I suggest that since the whole matter stems from the sexual molestation of a minor, you go to the Children’s Registry and report that you have been sexually abused and that you need help to get your complaint legally resolved and tell them everything related to the man, identify him and what has happened over the years. The Child Care and Protection Act has set up this office to deal with matters of this nature. Then there is the child lawyer, to whom you can also report everything and who can examine whether your situation justifies making the necessary arrangements so that you now have the legal representation that you would have had under the same law from the age of 14 and up to the age of 18.

These are the only options I can suggest. I am not saying you will be successful in doing this but as I mentioned before the CDA and Family Court should have a record of you and your case as should the Boys Home. The fact that your case appears to have fallen through the cracks in the legal system is not new but this is due to human error in doing their job. It is generally accepted that ‘to err is human’ but a 10 year delay and the resulting failure to resolve the case of a minor child is shocking and unacceptable and I must say I am honestly shocked as I have never heard of a situation like yours.

So I hope you succeed. Please don’t even mention that you should take the law into your own hands. If all that I have suggested fails, perhaps you should approach an investigative reporter from a media house and tell them about your experience. Maybe they will decide to investigate the matter and write a report on it.

I hope I have made the situation clear to you.

All the best for the rest of your life.

Margarette May Macaulay is a lawyer, Supreme Court mediator, notary public and women’s and children’s rights advocate. Send questions by email to [email protected]; or write to All Woman, 40-42 1/2 Beechwood Avenue, Kingston 5. All responses will be published.