‘Flies were swarming the puddings’

WESTERN BUREAU:

Based on the testimony of a children’s officer from the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), all was not well at the controversial Qahal Yahweh compound in Montego Bay, St James, when it was raided by the police on June 7, 2023.

“The children who I observed, some were coughing and had runny noses. I also observed two females that appeared to be teenagers and that were pregnant,” the officer told the St James Parish Court yesterday, where members of the group are standing trial on a range of charges.

During the 2023 police operation, 23 children – ages one to 17 at the time – were removed from the property and placed in state care. Several adults linked to the church were arrested and charged for breaches of the Child Care and Protection Act and the Education Act.

The officer was testifying in the ongoing trial of Jevaughn Thompson, Omar Thompson, Christopher Anderson, Nekeisha Harding, Derrick Clarke, Alicia Meadley, Fabian Nelson, Franchain Paris, Jodian Spence, Jose Foskin, Oral Spence, Rayon Letman, Ingrid Williams, Vera Woodley, Melisha Thompson, and Roanalee Maitland.

In her evidence-in-chief, the CPFSA officer described seeing cramped and untidy conditions at the Qahal Yahweh compound, including fly-infested food, small rooms packed with bunk-beds, and an unclean bathroom.

“I entered through the kitchen area, and I observed a lot of dirty utensils that were scattered across the counter and table. There was water on the floor, and I saw puddings on the counter, uncovered, and there were flies swarming the puddings,” the witness said.

“I remember distinctly a small room that I entered, and I observed that the room had no ventilation, no AC, no fan, no windows. In that small room there was a bunk-bed at every wall and a sponge on the floor.”

“From the room, I could smell the bathroom, and I smelled a rancid smell. The bathroom had a foul odour, and the toilet was unflushed…there was urine in the toilet bowl,” the witness continued.

“I went into a room, and there were members of the church gathered there, and most persons were seated…feeding was taking place, as they were having breakfast. I saw a male going around with a big spoon, and that big spoon was being passed around and placed in the mouths of everybody, children and adults alike.”

WITNESS ACCOUNT

The witness also told the court that she took the names of the children and their parents, and added that when a bus eventually took the children away, she went with them to the CPFSA’s office.

Under cross-examination from defence attorney Peter Champagnie, the witness admitted that she gave a statement about her experience several months after the fact.

Meanwhile, a former member of the Qahal Yahweh church, who previously gave evidence-in-chief on July 26, admitted under questioning from Champagnie that she described the group in her statement to the police as “very nice”.

“Would it be fair to say that you said in your statement [to the police] that ‘while living on the compound of the Qahal Yahweh church, the place and the people were very nice because we played many games and it was fun?’ And that when you said that, you were speaking the truth?” Champagnie enquired.

“Yes,” the witness answered.

The trial is slated for continuation on December 6, with the prosecution set to call three more witnesses for its case. A total of four witnesses have already testified for the prosecution to date.

The 16 defendants were arrested and charged following a police raid at the Qahal Yahweh compound on June 30, 2023. That raid was a follow-up to the earlier June 7 operation in which the 23 children were removed from the property.

The Qahal Yahweh group was previously in the spotlight in 2019 when the police removed six children, including a pregnant 16-year-old, from the compound. The church was under investigation at that time in relation to allegations that the group was conducting child marriages, as well as being involved in human trafficking, abduction, child abuse and sexual assault.

christopher.thomas@gleanerjm.com