Charge her!
Published:Wednesday | March 30, 2011 | 12:00 AM
DPP rules that teacher should face court on criminal charges after blinding student with belt buckle in 2009 incident
Tyrone Reid, Staff Reporter
Corporal-punishment advocates received a legal blow last week after the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) ruled that a teacher should be slapped with criminal charges for blinding a boy while attempting to beat one of his peers.
The Matilda's Corner police are expected to arrest or summon the teacher to court in short order. If found guilty, the educator is staring down the barrel of "a fine not exceeding $1 million or to imprisonment with hard labour for a term not exceeding three years, or to both such fine and imprisonment".
Justice Henderson Downer, deputy children's advocate, hailed the DPP's ruling as a watershed moment. He revealed that it was the first time that criminal charges were to be brought pursuant to Section Nine of the Child Care and Protection Act (CCPA) since the advent of the legislation in 2005. That section of the landmark legislation deals with what lawmakers labelled "cruelty to children".
The deputy children's advocate also said that the teacher, Patricia Perry, is to be charged in the Resident Magistrate's Court.
Contacted yesterday afternoon, Perry said she had not heard about the DPP ruling that she be charged.
"I don't have anything to say," the educator told The Gleaner.
Holness not aware
When contacted last week, Education Minister Andrew Holness, who has been leading the Government's charge to stamp out corporal punishment from Jamaica's classrooms, said he was not aware that the DPP, Paula Llewellyn, had ruled on the matter.
However, Llewellyn confirmed that her office ruled on the matter and had sent copies of the ruling to the commissioner of police as well as the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA).
The unfortunate incident took place on December 1, 2009 at the New Providence Primary School in St Andrew. Tajoery Small, who was blinded in his left eye by the educator's belt buckle, missed the rest of the school year because of the injury. He returned to the classroom on September 13, 2010, a week after the new school year started. At the time of the incident, Tajoery was nine years old. He is now 11.
The youngster did not get to sit the Grade Six Achievement Test as scheduled because the injury forced him to repeat grade five.
Meanwhile, Carlene Clarke, Tajoery's mother, told The Gleaner that she was not rejoicing over the charge as she was more focused on saving her son's right eye. The youngster is to leave the island later this week for surgery in the United States. The agitated mother is still awaiting Cabinet approval for the funds needed to pay for the child's trip and medical expenses.