'WE WON' - 'Dad raped us' sisters get day in court
Published:Sunday | July 17, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Janet Silvera, Senior Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Thursday, July 14, 2011, was a day of vindication for four sisters, who were reportedly raped repeatedly more than 40 years ago by their stepfather, Rheunick Elsworth Greene, while their mother turned a blind eye.
Judith Scott, Jacquelin Houston, Joan Green, and Julin Everett are celebrating the conviction of Greene in the Port Maria Resident Magistrate's Court, St Mary.
Their heart-rending story made headlines in May 2009, and the Press Association of Jamaica awarded the Gleaner for the article 'Dad Rape Us'.
Greene, who reportedly molested his stepdaughters for several years, was convicted on two of five counts of indecent assault on the eldest sibling, Judith Scott, and is expected to be sentenced this Thursday.
He was forced to answer the charges, 45 years after committing the act.
"We will always remember what we went through, and it will never stop impacting our lives. But justice was served, somewhat," said Scott.
The four were hoping their father would have been convicted on all five counts of indecent assault, "but the fact remains we still won", said Scott grudgingly. For her, closure has been a long time coming, having led the aggressive effort to have her 72-year-old stepfather placed behind bars.
"When the verdict was announced I had tears in my eyes. My sister Jacquelin and I hugged, there was disbelief that after all these years he was actually going to be held accountable for his crimes," said Scott.
Her husband, Lynville Scott, who died last September, was not there to celebrate the victory, but she is grateful for his love and support during the trial which lasted two years. "He never faltered under the pressure."
The sisters say the physical and mental pain have brought them closer. "We've talked to each other and supported each other during this ordeal and will continue to do so for the rest of our lives," said Jacquelin Houston.
According to the sisters, their mother, Millicent Greene, was away on a trip to New York during the trial
"She must be and should be embarrassed at the pain her children suffered, that she did nothing to prevent or stop," she said.
Their support and love, they say, comes from their children, other family members and friends. "They know what we have endured and understand that these actions cannot be allowed by anyone in their lives. Love for each other has carried us through our difficult times. Because of job obligations, Joan and Julin were not able to attend, but were on the phone often during the trial. The one thing I can say - with all we have suffered, we never made it deter us from the goals we set for ourselves," added Houston.
The four sisters have been successful in their personal and professional lives. Scott is an accountant; Houston, an airspace science instructor for the United States Air Force; Green works as an administrative assistant with the Federal Government; and Everett is a professor at a university in the the United States.
For them, this case has certainly set a precedent in Jamaica, finding a child molester guilty even after so many years had passed. "The time does not change the fact that he committed those crimes," they argued.
The women have heaped praises on two other women who helped them realise their dream in this case - the investigating officer, Carlene McKann, who they say did a fantastic job putting the arrest together; and Crown Counsel Maxine Jackson, who won the case.
"Miss Jackson said, 'Trust me', and I did, and she proved to be an impregnable adversary for Queen's Counsel Glen Cruickshank," boasted Judith Scott.
Judge Vaughn Facey decided that the case had to go to circuit.
"We would consider this a true success if this will assist mothers and children to find the courage to stop and or prevent sexual molestation, to understand that the Jamaican justice system does work, and to use it to its fullest capacity," said Scott.