CROSSING DAYTON

Confirmation has come from Justice of the Peace (JP) Robert Buchanan that he has met with one of three young women at the centre of a sex scandal involving People’s National Party (PNP) General Secretary Dr Dayton Campbell.

Campbell has denied all claims against him.

However, Buchanan, has confirmed that he signed a March 1, 2021 statement, one of three being used by PNP activist Karen Cross in her defence against a defamation suit Campbell has brought against her.

The nameless statements are yet to go before a judge for scrutiny.

The Kingston JP said he signed the statement verifying the now 18-year-old woman’s identity and signature with her in his presence, but did not offer much explanation for some of the major questions such as how he was approached.

“Why all this questioning?” he queried at one stage.

Subsequent telephone calls to him have gone unanswered.

The other two statements, dated March 12 and March 18, were signed by St Andrew JP Karlene Whitter, whom The Sunday Gleaner has been unable to reach.

JPs authenticate identities and verify signatures and not necessarily the contents of statements presented to them.

In March, a letter Cross sent to the PNP emerged publicly in which the controversial Comrade accused the former St Ann North Western member of parliament of paedophilia.

UNSUBSTANTIATED CLAIMS

The PNP said the claims were not substantiated with evidence and turned over the issue to the police, who closed their investigations in April with a similar conclusion.

“Neither Ms Cross nor anyone else provided anything that could establish the allegations as credible,” the police said in an April 18 statement.

Not only did Campbell strongly deny the claims, he filed a defamation lawsuit against Cross, Natalie Stack and Michelle Stern, accusing them of harming his reputation.

He has since described Cross as a “political mercenary”, who belongs to a “well-funded” group aimed at toppling him and undermining Mark Golding, PNP president and opposition leader.

Last week, the political pressure on Campbell intensified after the leaking of Cross’ defence filed in court on May 13, and revelations of three statements, purportedly from three women claiming they had sex with the PNP general secretary when they were under age 16.

Children under age 16 cannot consent to sex and convicted offenders face up to life imprisonment.

When contacted yesterday, Campbell told The Sunday Gleaner that he was standing by his statement made on the issue last Wednesday.

“I reject in the strongest of terms, recent and ongoing allegations made against my character,” he said in a public statement in which he also questioned the credibility of the women’s statements.

Those credibility questions were raised after it was disclosed that the names and other identifying information of the accusers were redacted from the statements.

NOT UNUSUAL

Criminal defence lawyer Peter Champagnie says although the case is a civil one, it is “not unusual” for names to be redacted in court filings, but it would become a concern if, at a later stage, the concealed information could not be disclosed.

“Either side can make what they want of it in terms of using it to his/her advantage. If it is that at the end of the day, the justice of the situation requires full disclosure, then the court will make an order,” the Queen’s Counsel said. “I can’t cross-examine Mary Brown if I don’t know if Mary Brown exists. I would need to know that this person exists.”

Under the law, persons can be prosecuted for failing to report cases of child abuse.

However, Children’s Advocate Diahann Gordon Harrison said the absence of key details means it is unclear when Cross or the JPs became aware of the allegations.

“If the information came to the attention of either the JPs or Cross while they (alleged accusers) were below 18 and they didn’t report, then there’s a criminal offence called failure to report,” said Gordon Harrison.

None of the three statements attached to Cross’ defence was provided to police investigators, confirmed Deputy Superintendent Radcliffe Gordon, who is attached to the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), the arm of the police that looked into the matter.

The case remains closed.

In the meantime, Cross is insisting, that “justice” and fear of the alleged accusers were the major reasons she did not contact the police.

“The girls (alleged victims) told me that they don’t want to go to nuh police. They made that clear … . I figured that I had to do it my way,” she told The Sunday Gleaner in her first major media interview since the latest developments.

Cross admitted that she did not attempt to speak with Campbell when she first started hearing the allegations as early as 2016 during an internal PNP election campaign.

Cross’ solution was to use the party’s systems.

“I am a PNP. There is a part of me that wanted it to be handled differently, where the girls get some level of justice, but don’t bring the party into public disrepute,” she said.

But the PNP, through its disciplinary committee led by former MP John Junor, dismissed Cross’ letters for lack of evidence.

Cross, though, is insisting that she is “helping” the girls by not providing any evidence to the police.

“I looked at CISOCA’s record … dismal. The system is not supportive of the girls. The system is a reactive system and not to prevent anything. What happens is that … the police get their statement from the girl, nobody cares about the girl afterwards,” she charged.

“Some causes are worth the fight and even worth the damage … . It wasn’t like an orchestrated campaign to bring down anybody,” the activist said, adding that she intensified her efforts when it became clear Mark Golding would be elected PNP president.

“I thought to myself that Dayton Campbell is going to play a big role in that and it’s important we get everything out in the open.”

DEFENDS ROAD TAKEN

That admission could lend succour to critics, who have questioned her motives, especially since she has refused to cooperate with the police.

“I can’t discuss it with you,” she said of the path she is pursuing to ‘help’ the alleged victims.

“I can understand why some sections of society would question my motives – media and other people. People can sit on their perches and judge and say ‘you should have done this or you should have done that’.”

A bruising week for Campbell ended with his PNP divided over whether he should step aside and fight the allegations, notwithstanding a party statement Thursday backing him.

“The party stands firm in support of our general secretary,” the PNP said, arguing that “what has emerged in this matter fails to meet any reasonable standard of credibility” and insufficient to force Campbell to step aside.

It was not a united front as all four PNP vice-presidents reportedly said during an internal meeting Thursday that Campbell should step aside or at least take a leave of absence.

“The party does not need this and we have to set an example. How can we speak on George Wright?” said a party official close to the discussions, referring to the JLP MP who has not denied being the man captured on video using a stool to beat a woman last month.

The politician’s case is being led by Queen’s Counsel Georgia Gibson Henlin, while Cross’ legal defence is headed by attorney-at-law Robert Collie.

editorial@gleanerjm.com