It is seven am and I am reading in the paper about the nine year old girl who testified in a Freeport court on Wednesday that clergyman and uncle Albert Whylly raped her. I want to let the judge, Senior Justice Hartman Longley know that he has already betrayed this little girl and her brave mother who called the authorities when he let the accused rapist go on bail. It is outrageous that a man who probably raped a child is given bail. Little children who say they were raped are, in my opinion, always telling the truth. Justice Longley has already betrayed this brave girl and her family by letting the accused go free, by giving him the opportunity to menace this family during this trial. This happens all the time in Bahamian courts. The little victims come forward, mothers bravely press charges, then judges let the accused out on bail to potentially rape another child. Bahamian juries are also notorious for not believing these little victims and finding the accused not guilty and setting them free to attack again. The final outrage is the way Bahamian communities will "forgive" men who are accused of child rape and set free, these violent criminals are never shunned or reviled like Casey Anthony, they are received back into the community like nothing happened, even back into the family, with a bunch of talk about forgiveness as Christ would have it, this religion-glutted society's way of relieving itself of personal responsibility.
It is a miracle that a Bahamian man accused of raping a child is brought before a judge and jury at all. So many times the littlest victims are not believed and charges are never pressed. Mothers are often already so beaten and broken themselves that they turn a blind eye. Or they know that if they pursue it their own support systems like family and church community will probably turn them out and away. And we all know convictions are rare. Who was the last Bahamian accused of child rape actually convicted and sentenced to jail time? The mother of this child has already been through hell and high water to get her daughter’s attacker into a Bahamian courtroom. She is to be commended and supported for the way she is fighting for justice for her daughter. Bahamian judges and juries need to BELIEVE our littlest victims of rape and REMAND accused rapists and child rapists especially and CONVICT them based on the victim’s testimony.
Bahamian judges and juries, give us less Jesus and more Justice for the littlest victims of rape.
Is accused child rapist preacher Albert Whylly going to have the nerve to conduct a church service in Freeport this sunday? Probably. Where is the mainstream press? Nowhere, because of antiquated laws which don't allow for free and in depth coverage and commentary on court cases. We need a citizen journalist in Freeport with an Iphone and a blog to find the church, to photograph him in the act, and publish it for the sake of naming and shaming him. The congregation too should be photographed, especially mothers attending with little children. They should be asked if they know or care that their preacher is an accused child rapist out on bail. Their faces and responses need to be published all over the web, and the public needs to scorn those who give impunity to child rapists. Citizen journalism on the web can be the child advocate's greatest tool in the struggle for justice for the littlest victims of rape.
We are required by our humanity to protect our children. Lets get on with it.
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