Attorney for Atlantis Leadership Academy accuses CPFSA of mishandling abuse allegations
Published:Sunday | March 31, 2024 | 12:10 AM
The American operator of a private facility for troubled teens in St Elizabeth has accused the Jamaican child protection agency of failing to include it in an investigation, seven weeks after removing eight US boys over allegations of abuse.
Last week, the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA) disclosed that it intervened to ensure the safety of the boys aged 14 to 18, following an unannounced visit to the facility on February 8. Representatives from the US Embassy in Kingston participated.
“During this visit, signs of abuse and neglect were observed, leading to the immediate removal of the teens from the facility for their safety,” the agency said in a statement, in which CEO Laurette Adams-Thomas also said the boys are “generally in good health” following medical assessments.
But Atlantis Leadership Academy and its founder Randall Cook are peeved over how the matter has unfolded, arguing that the claim of abuse by CFPSA “amounts to a premature conclusion before the finalisation of the investigative process”.
Due process, they alleged, is not being followed.
“The authorities have not seen it fit to extend to, nor afford either Atlantis Leadership Academy or Cook, the courtesy of taking their account or response to these very serious and disturbing allegations,” said a statement that their lawyer Dirk Harrison issued on Thursday.
“Instead, the CPFSA has been giving interviews in an apparent attempt to inflame both the local and international media to look in one direction only, instead of being cautious, circumspect, and balanced at this preliminary stage, as is required of a responsible public agency.”
Atlantis Leadership Academy is located in Treasure Beach, a seaside community on St Elizabeth’s south coast. “We are an affordable, structured boarding academy serving young men who possess strong leadership skills, though they’ve taken some wrong turns in their lives,” the institution’s website said.
Outlining the chronology of events relating to the boys’ removal, Harrison said it was Cook who had to make enquiries regarding the particulars of the complaint and contact details for the officers who removed the teenagers.
He said: “No contact has been made with either Atlantis Leadership Academy or Mr Cook, but we observe that public comments, laced with innuendos, have been made which are both premature, inflammatory, inappropriate and against the principles of due process.”
‘JUSTICE DEMANDS FAIRNESS’
Harrison added that given the public utterances of the CPFSA, justice would best be served by the referral of the completed case file to the appropriate prosecutorial authority if the CPFSA’s findings warrant that outcome.
“All investigations ought to be conducted in a fair and transparent manner affording all parties an opportunity to be heard. It is unfair for any public body to use the media to gain an unfair advantage. Justice demands fairness at all stages of its process,” the statement added.
The CPFSA said following the removal of the boys, the matter was presented in the local family court where an interim order was granted for the agency to retain custody of the children while further investigations are conducted.
The case was subsequently referred to the Criminal Investigations Branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force in St Elizabeth for a separate investigation.
Seven of the teens have been placed in residential childcare facilities, while an 18-year-old, who aged out of the children’s court jurisdiction, was returned to the United States in February.
The matter is scheduled to go back before the court on April 3.