“Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.” – Jesus Christ

The utterly appalling mishandling by the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service of the recent child abuse case leading to the acquittal of two child abuse suspects is almost without precedence.

I am not going into the background any more of the incredible blunders, inaction, disdain, and sheer incompetence by the officers of the Family Support Unit as they are well documented, not only here but by all the media,

Even Her Excellency our Governor, Helen Kilpatrick, has weighed in saying, “It is totally unacceptable for there to be failings such as these in the investigation of a child sex abuse allegation. I expect the RCIPS to conduct a thorough and objective investigation … to determine what went wrong. Those found responsible for the failings must be dealt with quickly and appropriately.”

What I do hope is that someone at the bottom of the ladder is not made a scapegoat to the failings that had to have come from the top.  At the moment, according to the RCIPS, only three officers who were involved in the 2012 abuse investigation “have been transferred from their roles and are currently working in different capacities while the disciplinary reviews are carried out. This action was not taken in response to any external query, but is in accordance with our standard operating procedures and evaluation of the specific circumstances.”

It would appear to me very easy to blame people who are no longer here as the case first was reported by the eleven year old child back in 2012.

The original notes were lost! How and why? By whom? The judge said it was by the officer who had first taken them but he had placed the blame elsewhere. Departmental moving. How often have we heard that one?

How is it possible for a police officer investigating a case of CHILD ABUSE not question other people who lived in the same house as the little child where the abuses occurred?

I hope the Governor will determine that an EXTERNAL review is necessary in this case. Internal investigations are nearly always an unashamed cover up with plenty of gobbledegook saying that steps were already in place before this case came to court.

Yes. The police had FOUR years to find some other steps. I only hope the rungs are strong enough.

Suffer the little children. I only wonder just how many more here are suffering similar abuse. And if they are how many are likely to come forward now?