Police release names of most wanted sex offenders

KINGSTON — The Police have released the names of the 12 most wanted sex offenders, the second time this is being done in three years.

The sex offenders  are: 20-year-old Anthony Hephard, otherwise called ‘Papa’; 17-year-old Everton McDonald; 20-year-old Anthony Kelly; 35-year-old taxi operator, Marvin Hawthorne; 23-year-old Dimitri Hyatt; 27-year-old Dwayne Francis; 18-year-old  Michael McKenzie; 17-year-old Junior Daley; 24-year-old Phillip Parkinson; Remoll Wright; Junior Phipps; and Kimarley Kelleyman.

At a press conference today,  at the office of the Commissioner of Police, in Kingston, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Ealan Powell said that given the  sensitive nature of the cases and the fact that identification parades are necessary in most of the cases, the police are unable to issue photographs of the offenders.

“It is something we would like to do, but we have to exercise caution in order not to jeopardise the cases we have against these offenders,” ACP Powell said.

He explained that it is important to list the sexual offenders, as while there have been marginal declines in sexual offences since the start of the year, “we don’t want offenders, especially repeat offenders, to be on our streets."

The Assistant Commissioner said that in most of the cases, the police do not have a photograph of the sexual offender, and that photographs will be available if the perpetrator is a repeat offender.

In the meantime, Deputy Superintendent of Police in charge of the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), Gloria Davis Simpson, informed that taxi operators, bus operators, and conductors have been observed as the main perpetrators in sexual offences.

“Another trend observed is that females responding to advertisements in the daily newspapers are also targeted.  Often times we get reports of perpetrators gaining access to buildings and to houses where the doors have been left unlocked. Females often times meet perpetrators in a bar, or at a party, at nightclubs and also via facebook. A number of the offenders also live in the same home or yard of the victim,” Mrs. Gloria Simpson said.  

The Deputy Superintendent also noted that there has been an increase in the buggery of young boys.

“These young children are targeted sometimes by family members, boys 17 years old and fathers. This is becoming a worrying sign for us as we have seen an increase where the cases of incest have been reported,” Deputy Superintendent Gloria Simpson said.

She further informed that men in the 30 to 40 age group are now targeting the 13 to 15 age group girls, while men 60 years and up are targeting the 11-13 year-old girls. In terms of carnal abuse, teenage boys are targeting girls 10 years and younger.

“It is important that we pay particular attention to the age group which we find to be the most vulnerable and since the beginning of 2011 we would have observed that the age group 11-15 years have been the main victims in most of these sexual offences,” she added.

The areas with the highest number of sexual offences in the Kingston and St. Andrew Region include: Harbour View, Bull Bay, Elletson Road, Denham Town, Hope Road, Stony Hill, Hunts Bay, Duhaney Park and Lawrence Tavern.

CISOCA is a branch of the Jamaica Constabulary Force and its objectives are:  to create an atmosphere which will encourage victims to report incidents of sexual offences and child abuse; to ensure efficient and effective investigation into allegations of abuse; to enhance the rehabilitation of victims through counselling and therapy; and to conduct public education programmes on sexual offences and child abuse.

By LATONYA LINTON, JIS Reporter