Seniors warned to be cautious

A recent vicious sexual assault on an elderly woman has some residents of Kensington New Road, St Michael, calling for justice.

It has also caused the head of the elderly interest group to warn seniors to take certain steps when they are home alone.

A neighbour said the attack happened on Sunday, leaving the community in shock and anger.

Keith Greaves said he spoke with the woman after the incident occurred.

“She actually told me what happened, just before the police and ambulance got here. I hope they catch the person,” he said.

Greaves said the woman was originally from overseas but lived here for decades. He said she was a sweet woman who would share her things without having to be asked. Despite what happened, he said Kensington New Road was still a safe community.

A woman in the neighbourhood said the situation was “awful” and she felt as though “we were not good neighbours – like we weren’t there for her”.

Sydney “Bouncer” Rowe said: “Let the police catch them and give them to us and we will deal with them. We won’t kill them but they will wish they were dead,” he said.

Rowe described the woman, said to be in her 80s, as a “sweet old lady” who used to make jokes with him.

“Nobody should get raped, man or woman, but ‘mummy’ so sweet. Let us deal with whoever did this and send a message to the rest,” he said.

A man, who gave his name as “Peppy” went further saying police had better catch the perpetrator before they did.

“The police have to stay heavy on that case because if we ever catch them, or know who the body is, we will get charged . . .This is what should happen in this district. I want the police to get heavy, heavy ‘pon it. A lot of things that are happening around here, the police need to get heavy ‘pon it. You understand me? That’s what I’m saying,” he said.

“Peppy” said the news disgusted him and even brought tears to grown men’s eyes. He said the woman never troubled anyone and did not deserve what happened to her.

“She lives there by herself. She would come to that back gate every day and talk though she don’t say nothing much. At first, I hear she did die and I start to cry and say ‘Look at what they do’ because suppose it was my mother, what would I do? Rape is one of the cruellest things you can do and the man who did that is a devil. In certain countries, they will cut off your limbs. I need the police to get heavy ‘pon this,” he said.

Another resident, who asked to remain anonymous, also called for drastic measures.

“This calls for castration or at least bring back the cat. No sympathy at all because he didn’t have any. An 80-year-old woman? No sympathy! When you go against the laws of God, you get things like this. It tells me they don’t believe in God,” he said.

Cried when news broke

Ricardo Watts said he knew the woman for years, back to when her father was still alive. He admitted he cried when he heard the news. “It hurt me. This woman was always disciplined, going to church all the time. She was always, always good. If she wanted anything do, I would do it and I didn’t take money. I want the person responsible to get hold bad, this is a serious thing,” he said.

President of the Barbados Association of Retired Persons Marilyn Rice-Bowen also commented on the matter, saying she felt saddened.

“I firmly believe that regardless of one’s age or gender, you should be able to be safe at home. To think that somebody could burglarise and rape a senior in this country, we are very, very hurt to learn of that situation. I sincerely hope that the perpetrator be caught soon . . . because as it stands now, there are seniors who live alone, who are terrified. After you have built a country up, you can’t have people living in fear. When you could think that as a senior citizen, you could be attacked like that? No!” she exclaimed.

Rice-Bowen urged caution among the senior community. She advised seniors not to open doors for anyone unless completely sure it was someone they wanted in their homes and to be careful of tricks.

“If you are in doubt, call a neighbour or call the police, do not open your doors. And I know that they have been saying recently where there’s a ploy to get people outside – they will turn a pipe on on the outside and you will hear this pipe running and figure you are wasting water but that’s their way of trying to lure you outside. So one has to be extremely cautious. And neighbours have to look out for neighbours, particularly seniors who live alone,” she said.

When this newspaper checked with acting police Public Affairs and Communications Officer Sergeant Liesl Gabriel on this matter, it was revealed that a report of a sexual assault was made on Sunday and “investigations were presently at a sensitive stage and still ongoing.” (CA)

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