A senior officer within the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) who was the subject of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct has been officially cleared of all accusations, according to Commissioner of Police Verne Garde.
Speaking at the RSLPF’s monthly press briefing on September 25, Commissioner Garde confirmed that the matter has been fully reviewed and that there will be no criminal prosecution.
Commissioner of Police Verne Garde
Chronologically outlining the investigation, Garde explained that upon first receiving the allegations, he personally reviewed the evidence. With his background as a former investigator, he determined the case lacked the “necessary ingredients” for charges, describing the material as “woefully inadequate.”
Still, “out of an abundance of caution,” he referred the matter to a senior and more experienced investigator, who produced four separate case files. These were then submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for review.
By July, the DPP had ruled out prosecution on three of the four cases. The fourth file remained under review until now.
“I placed all four matters before the Director of Public Prosecutions…The DPP has since contacted me. We have sat in a meeting on the last matter,” Garde said.
“All allegations made against the respective senior person has no possibility of prosecution. This is the end in regards to that matter,” Garde stated.
The matter, which had sparked public debate and internal scrutiny, is now officially considered closed by police authorities.
Any third-party or user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries published on the St. Lucia Times website (https://stluciatimes.com) in no way convey the thoughts, sentiments or intents of St. Lucia Times, the author of any said article or post, the website, or the business. St. Lucia Times is not responsible or liable for, and does not endorse, any comments or replies posted by users and third parties, and especially the content therein and whether it is accurate.
St. Lucia Times reserves the right to remove, screen, edit, or reinstate content posted by third parties on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times (this includes the said user posts, comments, replies, and third-party entries) at our sole discretion for any reason or no reason, and without notice to you, or any user. For example, we may remove a comment or reply if we believe it violates any part of the St. Lucia Criminal Code, particularly section 313 which pertains to the offence of Libel. Except as required by law, we have no obligation to retain or provide you with copies of any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website or any other online platform owned by St. Lucia Times. All third-parties and users agree that this is a public forum, and we do not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any content you as a user may post, or any other post or reply made by any third-party on this website. Any posts made and information disclosed by you is at your own risk.
