Concerned citizen and parent Mrs.Josephine Dublin Prince has issued a statement in relation to the court’s decision in the recent case involving an abusive father.

Dublin Prince said that after pleading guilty to child cruelty the stepfather in question was given a fine of $800.

She said, “I am very hurt by what is happening with our children in Dominica, some of which we do not even hear about, some of which are even concealed by the family”.

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She continued, “One can imagine the hurt both physical and emotional that this child will continue to suffer but especially the emotional. It was the magistrate herself who lamented that the laws are too lenient for this type of crime”.

She said that children need to be corrected with love and not anger.

She added, “Who will protect our children? The old adage that it takes a village to raise  a child is still very relevant. Many of our children continue to be ignored, neglected and rejected. This must be a wake up call. This is a serious situation and everyone of us should be angry, should add our voices to this criminal act towards a baby, almost a three year old child.

Dublin- Prince suggests that the accused receive counselling and that the child be taken away and placed in a safe environment.

She concluded, “Our children are calking out to us loudly and we must respond by being a voice for them; by naming and shaming the perpetrators and providing a safe, protected, enabling and healthy environment for their holistic growth and development. If we do not do this, we are contributing to an increase in the list of dysfunctional human beings in our society”.

According to reports, 26 year old Jamal Lenny Tavernier of Wesley but who resided at Castle Comfort placed his step-son in a washing machine and turned it on in an attempt to have the child confess to stealing from a supermarket. After pleading guilty, he was fined $800.