KPCN and Royal Netherlands Marechaussee officers entering the police station in St. Eustatius.
ST. EUSTATIUS--The police in St. Eustatius are still investigating the sexual assault cases involving students of Gwendoline van Putten Secondary School who are all twelve to fifteen years old, Chief of Basic Police Care Inspector Robelto Hodge said.
The case involves five boys who are being investigated for assault on two girls. No identifying details about the suspects or victims were given due to the sensitive nature of the case.
Police are investigating two separate incidents, with one of the culprits involved in both incidents. One incident involved three boys assaulting a young girl and in the other incident two boys assaulted another girl.
The Caribbean Netherlands Police Force KPCN Youth and Vice Department is investigating these cases. Two detectives from Bonaire came to Statia. Five students were arrested, questioned and then released on the orders of the prosecutor. Witnesses are being questioned and detectives are studying security camera footage at the school to obtain information that may be relevant to the investigation.
A police officer pulled his service weapon last month during an incident at Largo Heights. Two persons filed an official complaint with the police regarding the incident, which is still under investigation by KPCN’s Internal Affairs Department. Internal Affairs officers are speaking with witnesses and the two individuals who filed complaints. No further details could be given due to the fact that this investigation is not being carried out by the KPCN St. Eustatius branch, Hodge said.
He also provided some details about a traffic accident at The Farm on Saturday, February 20, during which a vehicle driven by an off-duty KPCN member crashed.
The officer was transferred to Statia to work there for three months. In his private time, he was driving on a dirt road in The Farm, and while rounding a corner he suddenly was confronted with a cow in the middle of the road. To avoid a collision with the animal he steered his vehicle away from the cow, which caused the car to land on its side.
The car was damaged and as the officer complained of pain to one of his hands, he was taken to Queen Beatrix Medical Centre where he was examined by a doctor and subsequently released.
The case is still under investigation, as there were no witnesses in the remote area.
