KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — Minister of State in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information Floyd Green says the State is offering assistance to the child and family who have been caught up in the allegations of sexual abuse involving a local pastor.

In an interview with JIS News, Green said protection of the victim is of utmost importance to the ministry, and the Child Development Agency (CDA) has begun its intervention with the family.

 “Our CDA officers have gone in and have done a home assessment. We have already started counselling because we always think about how we can get our children back on a road where they can have a productive life and they can minimise the impact of the incident,” he noted.

The state minister said the victim, who is 15 years old, and her sister, aged 13, have been removed from their family home and placed in “safe keeping”, adding that remaining teenagers in the home will also receive counselling. Parental support will also be provided.

Green informed that the non-profit charitable organisation, Food For The Poor, has been contacted to provide home-related assistance, as the family dwelling is in poor condition.

In the meantime, the state minister is urging the public to remember that the victim is a child and her interests should be protected. “Oftentimes, it is the child who suffers most, even when the case is adequately resolved through the courts,” he said.

Green has asked the CDA to provide a detailed report of its intervention to ensure that further harm is not being done.

On December 28 last year, the pastor was charged after the police caught him in a “compromising position” with the teenage girl in a car. The matter is now before the courts.