December 21 return date for senior fireman on sex offence charges

WESTERN BUREAU:

The St James Parish Court has set December 21 as the next return date for Jamaica Fire Brigade [JFB] Assistant Commissioner Floyd McLean, who is accused of sexually molesting a 14-year-old girl who was a volunteer at the Montego Bay Fire Department.

McLean, who is charged with attempted rape and sexual touching, was given the new court date and had his bail extended when he made his appearance before presiding judge Sasha-Marie Ashley on Tuesday.

A committal hearing had previously been scheduled for Tuesday’s date during McLean’s last court appearance on September 22, to determine whether his matter would be transferred to the St James Circuit Court for trial.

However, the case was put off after the prosecution informed Judge Ashley that a medical certificate was still outstanding from its case file. It was also disclosed that the medical certificate had already been applied for in order for it to be added to the file.

McLean’s attorney Kevon Johnson suggested in court that the jurisdiction for hearing his client’s matter should remain at the level of the parish court.

“I had a particular view based on the facts that are here [regarding the case], but I am in your hands. I believe the court should accept jurisdiction,” said Johnson.

That suggestion was ultimately not addressed during Tuesday’s sitting, and it remains to be seen if the issue of the case’s jurisdiction, – whether it remains in the parish court or will be transferred to the circuit court– will be resolved when the matter is next mentioned on December 21.

HIGHLY DECORATED

McLean, who is in charge of the JFB’s Region Four division, was arrested on August 15 this year and was formally charged the next day, August 16. He was arrested after the complainant made a report to the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse.

The teenager was on summer voluntary service at the fire department in Montego Bay when she was allegedly molested by McLean on July 20. She reported the matter to family members, who in turn contacted the police, and McLean was subsequently arrested and charged.

At the time of the alleged incident, McLean had been a long-serving and highly decorated member of the JFB, which he first joined in 1990, and had been promoted to senior management in 2020.

During his years of service, McLean wore many hats and carried out several assignments including as senior manager area officer, divisional commander, fleet manager, fire safety practitioner, fire investigator (structural, arson, bush), fire suppression operative and policy development team member.

McLean first appeared in court in relation to the allegations against him on August 17, at which time he was offered bail in the sum of $400,000 with two sureties and ordered to surrender his travel documents to the police.