Fifth suspect charged for alleged abuse of US boys at Atlantis Leadership Academy

By Kimone Witter    

 

The fifth suspect in the alleged abuse of children at the Atlantis Leadership Academy in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth has been charged.

 

Damion Herrera, a 23-year-old of Gordon Town, St. Catherine, has been charged with assault occasioning bodily harm, cruelty to a child and assault at common-law.

 

Senior Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, head of the Jamaica Constabulary Force's Corporate Communications Unit, said Mr. Herrera was charged Monday night after he was pointed out during an identification parade.

 

His four co-accused, 39-year-old Edison Morris, 51-year-old Courtney Wiggan, 30-year-old Odaine Maxwell and 33-year-old Carson Cox, were similarly charged on Friday.

 

They are expected in the St. Elizabeth Parish Court in Santa Cruz on Tuesday.

 

The men, who are employed to Atlantis Leadership Academy, were arrested on Friday during operations in Great Bay, Sandy Bank and Holland Village.

 

Atlantis Leadership Academy, an American owned facility advertises itself as a faith-based school, serving teens struggling with substance abuse, anxiety disorders and deviant behaviour.

 

On February 8, eight American teenagers were removed by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency after signs of abuse and neglect were observed during an unannounced visit.

 

According to NBC News, the academy's founder and director, Randall Cook, responded to the charges in a statement on Monday, saying the facility was appalled at the hatchet job that is being done to its reputation and denies all the allegations that have come after more than eight years in operation.

 

Mr. Cook has not been arrested.

 

In the meantime, New York based child welfare attorney, Dawn Post, who has been assisting with the case pro bono, says five boys remain in state care.

 

Speaking on TVJ's Smile Jamaica on Tuesday, Ms. Post said no child remains at Atlantis Leadership Academy.

 

"All of the boys were removed. There were eight boys that were originally removed between the ages of 14 and 18. One of the youth was immediately sent back to the US when he turned 18. The other youth remained in care for a substantial period of time. Until last week, one youth was released directly to the care of his father after appropriate investigations were made, and then one was released yesterday," she disclosed.