Two Men Charged with Rape of 5-year-old Girl

No pictures of the two Caymanian suspects are available.

By Trent Jacobs Two men have been formally charged with raping a five-year-old girl after being arrested last week. Kent Robert Ebanks, 52, of West Bay, has been charged with three separate instances of rape and Marden Hernandez-Kirkconnell, 26, has been charged with one count of rape of the young girl. The crimes were reported to police on the evening of Monday, 20 October, the same night Mr Ebanks was arrested; Mr Hernandez-Kirkconnell was arrested the following day. As defined by the Cayman Islands Penal Code, rape is considered to be unlawful sexual intercourse with another person without consent and is punishable by up to life in prison. In Cayman, the severity of the charge is the same regardless of the age of the rape victim. Royal Cayman Islands Police Service (RCIPS) spokesperson Deborah Denis told Cayman Net News, “It’s still the same charge of rape and rape is the highest sexual offence charge there is in the Cayman Islands.” The child was taken to a hospital for treatment but has since been released, according to the police, and is said to be “doing ok.” The rape case was made public last week in a widely circulated email that included a picture of a man alleged to be one of the rapists and included a warning to call police if the man was seen. That same day the RCIPS issued a release explaining that the email was not an official police document. The subject of child sexual abuse has gained media attention following the two-year sentence recently given to a man who was convicted of indecently assaulting a five-year-old boy. Last week, the RCIPS issued a statement explaining that in 2006 they forwarded their sex offenders registry proposal to the Attorney General Hon. Samuel Bulgin, who approved the proposal and submitted it to the Legal Drafting Department where, according to police, it still remains two years since its original drafting. When reached by Cayman Net News a representative from the Legal Drafting Department said that they have been told not to speak to the press about the sex offenders registry and all inquires were to be handled through Acting Attorney General Cheryll Richards. She could not be reached for comment by press time. Sandra Catron, a former candidate for public office and radio talk-show host, who has been outspoken on the issue, recently declared that in light of the Government’s inaction to pass the sex offenders registry into law she will launch a public sex offender registry online. According to the RCIPS statement, “The advantages of such a register include the increased supervision and tracking of convicted sexual offenders, particularly those at high risk of re-offending after expiry of their parole or probation period, through knowledge of their patterns of offending and place of abode and employment which will highlight any contact they may have with potential new victims.” The proposed registry will include data such as the perpetrators name, aliases, distinguishing marks, picture, address, place of work and DNA samples. The Legislative Assembly will decide whether the public will have access to such information. In the US, Megan’s Law or the Sexual Offender Act of 1994, makes public such information as opposed to the UK where similar legislation maintains the privacy of sexual offenders. “It just shows their lack of complete interest in the matter,” Ms Catron said of the Government’s failure to pass the legislation that would inform the public of sex offenders living in the community. In a reference to the recent murder of woman’s rights activist Estella Scott-Roberts and the possible implications of taking action herself on the issue of sexual abuse, Ms Catron said, “I’m putting my life at risk here potentially and in physical danger because our Government refuses to get off of their behinds and do the right thing by the people in this country.” She described the crime against the young rape victim as “horrific” and said she hopes justice is served properly in this case. “I’m glad that charges were brought which hopefully means there is sufficient evidence for a successful prosecution. It just makes me physically sick to even think of the possibility of that happening.” Ms Catron is also pushing for broader education regarding sexual abuse but insists that the public be made aware of convicted sexual criminals living in the Cayman Islands, whether they are Caymanians or foreigners. She noted that she is in the early process of forming a petition to convince the Government to take action on the matter saying, “The public has a right to know.” Ms Catron added: “[I’ll do] whatever is necessary to show the Government that the majority of people in this country are in favour of a public sex offenders registry that they themselves can go online and access.”