Police on hunt for man accused in 10-y-o sexual-molestation case

Western Bureau:

Alfred ‘Martin’ Buchanan, who was arrested and charged in 2021 after he was accused of sexually molesting another man but absconded after being granted bail, is back on the police radar as recently, one of his alleged victims released a video in which he was crying out for justice.

Michael Reid, who is now 24 years old but was only 14 years old at the time of the alleged incident, says he remains traumatised by what he said Buchanan did to him, and in the video, which has gone viral, he blamed the Hanover police for not treating his case seriously while vowing to take matters into his own hands to punish Buchanan.

However, in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday, Andrew Nish, the police commander for Hanover, said that contrary to Green’s assertion, the police have been doing all that they can to ensure that he gets justice.

“The matter is said to have happened in 2014. It was not reported immediately to the police. It was reported to the police sometime in 2021 when Mr Reid decided to come forward and give a statement to the police,” said Nish. “His statement was recorded, and an investigation was initiate. Subsequent to that, the person in question was taken into custody. He was pointed out in an identification parade, and the matter was brought before the court.

“The accused in this matter was granted bail at the court. Thereafter, a subsequent court date was set, and he did not appear, and as such, a warrant was issued for his arrest,” explained Nish.

Nish said the accused man has had several other complaints made against him, which are currently under investigation. He is pledging that the Hanover police will do their best to see that justice is served in all the matters.

“I spoke personally to Mr Reid. He attended my office, and we sat down and had a talk, and he assured me that he is satisfied with what is happening currently in terms of the investigations,” said Nish, who noted that the officer who was originally assigned to Reid’s case had resigned from the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and the matter was transferred to another officer.

UNAWARE

When The Gleaner spoke to Reid, he admitted to having made the video crying out for help but also admitted to being aware of the actions taken by the police to help him get justice.

“Before this video went viral, I was aware of the fact that I had pointed him out at in identification parade positively, but I was not aware that he had actually gotten bail,” said Reid. “It was yesterday when the video went out [that] I was made aware that he had gotten bail and absconded.”

Reid said that contrary to the sentiments he expressed in the video, he believes that the police are doing their best to hunt down and apprehend Buchanan.

“Currently, I can say yes, I am fully satisfied about the actions that the police have been taking with regard to this matter,” said Reid. “I will be doing another video for social media to update my followers about what is happening with regard to the case so that there are no misconceptions about the matter.”

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