Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams, SC, is cautioning Barbadians against politicising sexual abuse cases or making comments that could prejudice the case and make the situation more difficult for the families involved.
“There are certain things that you don’t politicise or try to score cheap points on. Sexual offences and offenders are not something up for political gain. This is a whole-of-society issue.
“If a man is found guilty, drop the hammer. If a man has gone through the system and was convicted, drop the hammer. But, equally, until such time, a man is innocent until proven guilty and we should not be so casual with our mouths or facts or because we want likes on Instagram or views on YouTube. We should not be so loose with what we are doing that we put things out there that may compromise the trial when it’s time,” Abrahams said.
Circulated video
He made those comments yesterday during the opening of the Barbados Probation Service’s Sex Offender Officer Summit at Raddison Aquatica, Aquatic Gap, St Michael.
During his speech, he explained that he was referencing a video that was circulated on social media featuring two people whom he said accused the Government of attempting to conceal the case of a teacher who was accused of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old boy.
While stressing that the judicial system dealt with the matter, Abrahams questioned why they attempted to blame the Government.
“I had the misfortune of seeing a video circulating on WhatsApp. . . where two well-known personalities were having their full say on that and accusing the Government of hushing it up and trying to influence it.