Serial rapist gets 29 years in rape ring, Look out my sisters.

A man was sentenced in February 2010 in a Kingston court after he was found guilty of 4 counts of sexual assault (stemming from previous charges for which he was on bail), illegal possession of firearm, robbery with aggravation and abduction of a woman in particular in June 2009 who was also robbed of valuables resulting from a sinister lesbian rape ring operated in Kingston and St. Catherine.

Confirmed reports reaching GLBTQ are that “an undercover female” who has a profile on a popular social network page has been using the page and their alleged lesbian sexual preference to lure women of gay and bisexual persuasion into the web of deception where the women are abused. In this particular case one woman was raped while another was sexually abused, the latter decided to pursue the case seriously which led the police who were cooperative to smash the ring, a ring that one the face of it was long suspected based on the overwhelming evidence and raft of charges the accused men have to their name, they were on bail for similar abuse charges when the acts were committed.

On June 20, 2009 the sexual abused victim and her friend who accompanied her in Kitson Town at approximately 1pm went to meet the undercover lesbian as agreed she was instead met by an alleged stepbrother of the so called lesbian profiler, they struck a conversation and were walking to the home of his “stepsister” when they were pounced upon by the accused on foot who at gun point ordered the girls and the stepbrother to divert to bushes where the unmentionable acts took place, it was then it became clear to the women that the “stepbrother” was a part of the scheme as he knew where to take captives along with his gun totting crony, the main victim as referred to here was sexually assaulted while the other woman was raped by both men i.e. the accused and the alleged step brother in full view of each other. The women were released by the perpetrators they then made their way to their homes, the matter was then reported to the police.

The case was fast tracked as the accused and the alleged stepbrother were on bail for similar offences and personal belongings of the women were found at the home of the accused including the computer and the cell phone used by the alleged female profiler who is also involved in the ring led to the overwhelming evidence used in the case.

The other victim has not been doing very well emotionally but she has the support of the stronger victim who testified in the case and is being encouraged to pursue here side to bring some closure. The alleged step brother and lesbian profiler are still at large and investigations are progressing. The police in St. Catherine are aware of the ring as several other women are believed to have been either victims themselves or attempts made to trick them into forced group sex activities have been asked to come forward to identify or give a sketch of their abusers.

The very network page in which this incident is said to have stemmed had received previous correspondence from your truly strongly suggesting that the administrators make the site private so the front page couldn’t be seen by just any member of the public and members would have to be vetted and approved before full membership is granted, knowing the sensitivities involved. I also operate a network page and only invited persons who can be verified by other members present on the site can enter, signing in also is a necessary process and profiles must have a face photo present.

Fortunately the sexual assault case was tried “in camera” meaning proceedings were closed to the public so the victim was speared the pressure and embarrassment from the public’s glare and she gave me permission to publish this post as a warning to others who may fall prey to similar schemes. The matter of the victims sexuality however was not made mention as determining factor in the trial specifically, a mature step by court standards but may be hinted to once the lesbian impersonator is caught to establish motive.

The scourge of corrective rape has been covered on this blog as extensively as is possible given the sensitivities involved but these instances have been on a steady rise in severity since 2008. Several other cases have gone under the radar as only recently there was another unconfirmed allegation of a double rape episode in south Central Jamaica where one of the perpetrators was said to be the cousin of one of the victims in a bid to heterosexualize the victim.

This is a stern warning to my lesbian sisters out there please be mindful of the persons and social networks you become associated with, here are some tips I think that are useful:

1) Check the sites and chat rooms to make sure their privacy settings allow for scrutiny of members and their profiles.

2) Be ware of the amount of pictures of yourself you may upload to these open sites,

3) If one intends to meet or hook-up with potential persons from these networks do so in a public place for your own protection

4) Develop a rapport with online chatters or friends before meeting them; get to know the chatter by asking probing questions

5) Use a pseudonym where necessary and ask the administrators to verify members where necessary

6) Use the privacy settings available on your respective social networks so that not everyone can see your page if needed

7) When in doubt just block a suspicious profile user if one if not satisfied that the person is legitimate

8) Be alert to the number of members in your page and try to discern suspicious activity

9) If in doubt leave the respective page and delete all content of you including photos

10) Look for pages that offer privacy settings that are suitable for you protection, pages on NING, Facebook and MySpace offer great privacy settings that can make your profile hidden from all other members

11) Network with those you know so they can verify other folks and tread carefully online.

Thanks to the sister who offered her assistance in preparing this report she is doing very well as she seemed strong in her demeanour and has family support is refreshing as they have been with her through the court cases and relevant activities, this kind of support is not often found in rape cases in general. The police again are to be commended in this case as she said they were helpful including the male officers, a commendation not heard very often towards lawmen from LGBT Jamaicans.

Look out for yourself and others.

Peace and tolerance

H