Stiffer Penalties For Child Molesters

The Monitor Editor | Tuesday November 9, 2021 06:00

Hardly a week passes without reports of some monster having defiled an innocent girl, or some irresponsible stepfather having poisoned their children because they do not want to pay child support. What is happening in our communities and where are we headed as a nation? There is an article in this issue, which alleges that a police officer has been sexually assaulting his step-daughter for at least two years. The issue is painful in more ways than one, if indeed its true. Firstly, the man is a father figure who is supposed to go the extra length to protect the child. Secondly, he is a man in uniform that she could have looked up to not only as a father but also as a police officer.

Lastly, the protector turned predator destroying any sense of trust in those that are older and wiser enough to listen to quickly help the long-suffering child. The expectation is that the officer through his training and knowledge of the law, would be the one fighting these barbaric acts of defiling minors, but instead, he has allegedly been the tormenter of an innocent child to the point that the girl could only dream of running away from home.

The police force is the main security organ that we are supposed to feel safe around, but as we all know, the saying one rotten apple spoils the bunch. It is not necessarily true that one police officer's actions define the entire force. We should not paint police officers with the same brush, but caution dictates it would be an expensive luxury when one of your own can cost the reputation of a collective in a single incident destroying what was built tirelessly over time. As we know, such incidents can lead to people mistrusting the very ones meant to protect them.

Hopefully, the girl will be given proper counselling, because as it stands she has been violated by someone she trusted as a father and someone who everyday would go to work wearing a prestigious uniform to fight crime. We need to come together as a nation and fight for our children’s well-being.

The teacher who took it upon herself/himself to report the matter to the police should be commended, because often times adults turn a blind eye, even though they know that children in this case, a child is being abused. Let's stand together to help our children, and call on the government to introduce stiffer penalties for those who abuse them. Such criminals deserve to rot in jail so that they do not get to abuse any other child again. #Say NO to child abuse. #Let's protect our children! #Stiffer penalties for child molesters!