The Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) is unequivocally refuting a news article published by The News Newspaper on Friday December 11, 2020 under the headline “GANG RAPE! Four Police Officers under investigation for Raping Girl at Station.”
The article alleges that four (4) police officers raped an under-aged girl multiple times at a police station in a rural district and that the matter is currently under investigations. The article was republished by Asberth News Network (ANN) on Monday December 14, 2020.
The RSVGPF wishes to inform the general public that the article in question is erroneous, incorrect and frankly irresponsible journalism.
While the RSVGPF has launched recent investigations into reports of a sexual nature against several police officers, the organizations wishes to list a few facts:-
- The investigations are all independent of each other
- There is no gang rape involved in these investigations
- None of the alleged incidents occurred at any police station
- None of the alleged victims are under the age of consent
It must be noted that prior to the publishing of the article, no effort was made to verify the information with the Commissioner of Police or any other member of the hierarchy; or even the Public Relations and Complaints Department.
Members of the media and media houses are strongly advised to verify and seek out factual information from the RSVGPF before publishing articles of this nature. Doing so will avoid tarnishing the reputation of members of the organization, prevent undue public alarm and; protect the credibility of journalists and media organizations.
Accordingly, the RSVGPF calls on The News Newspaper and Asberth News Network (ANN) to apologize and retract the article in question.
