PORT-OF-SPAIN (CMC):
POLICE HAVE arrested and charged a 14-year-old schoolboy for allegedly attempting to rape his 25-year-old teacher who had stayed back after school to give him extra lessons.
According to a newspaper report yesterday, the teenager who attends a Junior Secondary School in Central Trinidad is to appear in court today. He has denied the allegation.
The teacher told the police that on Friday at about 5:00 p.m., at a time when the classrooms were empty and staff was preparing to leave the compound, the student asked her to assist him with his schoolwork. The teacher agreed, and it was while she was giving lessons to the student that he allegedly grabbed her and threw her on a desk.
The teacher claimed the student began fondling her and she screamed for help. One of the school's cleaners heard her screams and burst into the classroom, according to the teacher.
An alarm was raised by the cleaner and the student ran from the classroom.
GUARDS NOTIFIED
Security guards at the school were notified and the teacher was taken to the staff room.
The student remained in police custody on Friday night and was only allowed to go home after his parents stood bail before a Justice of the Peace.
Teachers at the school expressed shock and alarm at the incident, and have indicated plan to hold a meeting today to put measures in place to avoid any similar incidents.
Clyde Permell, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Unified Teachers Association, said it was the first time such an incident was ever brought to his attention. Permell said schools have security guards, but he did not know what else could be done to protect teachers.
