Pastor on the run for rape

A St Catherine pastor is on the run after he allegedly raped an 11-year-old last Thursday.

The victim had been residing with her aunt in the rural community since April to facilitate online classes.

The aunt of the pre-teen told The Gleaner that while she is at work, her niece, along with her three children, often stayed at her mother’s house where her stepfather, a pastor, also lived.

She had no reason to believe that her children or niece would be at risk of being sexually abused.

On Saturday, while they were all at her mother’s home, she began to talk to her niece about an unfavourable academic report.

The aunt sent the 11-year-old to take a shower, but on her return, she realised that her niece was crying and began to pack her bags.

Pressed about why she was crying, the child alleged that the pastor had raped her.

The enraged aunt attempted to take justice into her own hands and set the accused’s car on fire.

“Me ketch him a out the fire and same time me run up pan him. Mi nuh know weh God give me that strength from and hold him inna him neck and as me a go swing the machete fi chop him, some man hold me neck and wring the machete out a mi hand,” the aunt told The Gleaner.

All identities have been withheld to protect the privacy of the minor.

The accused escaped into the hills of the St Catherine North district.

The police station in a neighbouring district was alerted on Saturday night but no one showed up.

Calls were repeatedly made on Sunday through to Monday morning, when an officer remarked, “Then if di man run gone up inna di hill, a we fi guh up deh go look fi him?”

The child was taken to hospital on Saturday night by plain-clothes police, where it was confirmed that she was raped.

Her aunt has not been able to speak to her at length to determine if she had been sexually assaulted before.

At the time of the interview on Monday, the child was being taken to the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA) in Spanish Town.

CISOCA has deferred requests for an interview.

The pastor’s wife fainted, could not speak, and has been admitted to hospital since she learnt of the allegations on Saturday, The Gleaner understands.

The aunt added that the family is not coping well but is hoping to find the accused.

“Family from near and far and community people all came on Sunday and we went into the hills searching for him, but to no avail,” she said sombrely.