CASE promises security beef-up after second campus rape in 9 months

PASSLEY GARDENS, Portland:

President of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), Derrick Deslandes, has promised to implement improved security measures in the wake of the abduction and sexual assault of a student on Thursday.

Deslandes’ disclosure was in response to angry protests as students, rattled by the predawn attack, called for administrators to address security deficits at the Portland school.

But the president had made similar pledges in June 2021 after an attacker gagged and raped a student in an abandoned train tunnel at the college.

The modus operandi in Thursday’s incident was a carbon copy of last year’s assault.

The student was reportedly attending farm practice shortly after 5 a.m. when she was surprised by a man who dragged her to a secluded area near an abandoned Jamaica Railway Corporation tunnel on the school compound.

She was later found by a search team comprising students, lecturers, security personnel, and the police. The student was taken to hospital for treatment but has since returned to CASE, where she is receiving counselling.

“This particular situation is troubling because it really occurred on the main road just above the administrative complex,“ Deslandes said during a press conference.

“So it is very concerning for us because on any given day hundreds of staff members, male and female, traverse this thoroughfare. They walk most of the time. So we recognise that it is an incident that could affect anyone of us.”

The area where the attack occurred is reported to be regularly used as shortcut between the eastern and western ends of the campus.

“We have put in place steps to be taken to try to secure that area. We have established a number of additional fixed-security posts. We have brought in a new search provider for security, and we met with them today and agreed to expand their security presence and also expand the level of patrolling that they do on a schedule basis to ensure that there is always coverage,” Deslandes said.

According to the college president, steps have been taken to hire a driver to offer a shuttle service for students who venture out to the farm, sometimes as early as 3 a.m. He said that discussions will be held with the police for the beefing up of patrols. Security cameras will also be installed.