Court hears… Businessman shows boy penis three times ....

A St Catherine businessman, who allegedly exposed himself to an 11-year-old boy, is to reappear in the St Catherine Parish Court on September 16.

The accused, who is from Portmore, St Catherine, was hauled before the court after being charged with public indecency.

Allegations before the court are that, on three occasions, the accused saw the 11-year-old boy on his way from school. It is said that the accused stopped his vehicle and disembarked and then pulled out his penis to show the child, who he also called.

original charge

On the last occasion, the police were contacted, and following an investigation, the accused was charged.

When the matter was mentioned in the St Catherine Parish Court yesterday, the original charge of indecent exposure was set aside and replaced by the public indecency charge.

Sadly cases as this latest one helps to conflate the issues of male homosexuality versus a paedophile as many say gay men are simply predatory.

The DSM

A paedophile is someone who has some sort of sexual attraction to minors despite the gender of the intended victim and is seen as deviant behaviour by the Diagnostic Statistical Manual, DSM, the guide for psychologists on such matters.

Some of the early comments thus far are pointing to the above mentioned conflation and is cause for concern as it leaves a misconception of the issues and can be problematic for public LGBT advocacy. It is really heartbreaking when stories like this come to hand.

Clerk of Court Nicole Kellier told Parish Judge Tara Reid-Carr that she instructed the investigating officer to change the charge. This was after it was reasoned that the Vagrancy Act that deals with indecent exposure had been repealed.

Hope proper evidence can be brought to bear and the relevant judgement made by the bench.

Peace & tolerance

H