NASSAU, BAHAMAS — A nine-year-old boy testifying against six former employees of the Bahamas Children’s Emergency Hostel yesterday admitted to calling one of the women a derogatory name which led to him getting beaten on the day in question.
The trial continued its third day of witness statements before Magistrate Kendra Kelly.
The one witness of the day was living at the hostel for nearly two years during the time of the incident but was removed from the home in the aftermath of the incident.
He now resides at the Nazareth Centre where he has been staying for the past two and half months.
The prosecution alleged that on September 22, 2020, the women unlawfully physically abused nine boys and two girls in their care and custody, in a manner causing them unnecessary harm.
The young boy told the court that on that day he was beaten by a worker because he was “being rude” and later confirmed that he was fighting with another boy at the hostel.
The minor witness said after getting punished, it made him feel “bad” and he cried.
He said he was then sent to Sandilands for three months, which made him feel “frustrated”.
He identified Sabrina Smith in the court as the person who beat him.
He named another seven children who he remembered being in the dining room area when the incident occurred.
During the cross-examination, Wallace Rolle, attorney for Smith, asked the boy whether he believed little boys who fight should be “spanked and get a whipping”, to which the child agreed.
Rolle charged that the minor witness not only fought the children that day but also fought the staff.
He asked whether the boy cursed them out and told him to tell the court what it was that he told.
The child initially refused to repeat what he said on that day nearly two years ago, indicating “I don’t want to say that cause that’s confusing”.
After multiple attempts from the lawyer to pressure the child to repeat the word, he admitted that he called one of the workers the “B” word, which rhymes with “witch”.
Rolle then asked him whether he believed that was right and whether children who use bad words should be spanked to which the child agreed.
He then pressed the young boy on other bad words he claimed he said to the other staff, asking him if he curse any of the women about their private parts.
The prosecutor, Sgt Vernon Pyfrom objected to the line of questioning, insisting that it did not relate to the matter at hand.
After moving on from that issue, Rolle then attempted to suggest to the child that he was sent to Sandilands because he behaved badly to the staff and have a “behavioral problem”, which was also objected to by the prosecution.
Magistrate Kelly ruled that the young boy would not know why he was sent to Sandilands because he is only a child and could not speak to that.
Eloise Canter, 53; Carmetta Woods, 47; Natasha Pratt, 46; Occonelle Gordon, 25; and Sabrina Smith, 61, were charged with 11 counts of cruelty to children and all pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Shawn Seymour, 42, was charged with 11 counts of failing to report the abuse of a minor and also pleaded not guilty to all of the counts.
The matter is expected to resume on May 16 for additional witness testimonies.
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