MONTEGO BAY, St James — The two brothers accused of raping five females, including an eight-year-old, in the middle-class community of Irwin Point last week, were yesterday charged with a range of offences.

The accused, whose names are being withheld by the police, are expected to appear in the Montego Bay Resident Magistrate's Court early next week.

Both men are jointly charged with burglary, robbery with aggravation, illegal possession of firearm, abduction, assault at common law, rape and grievous sexual assault.

Additionally, one of the accused has been charged with buggery and sexual touching.

However, according to St Andrew head of the Centre for the Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), Superintendent Gladys Brown, the police have decided to withhold their names, as they might be required to face identification parades for rape and other charges.

"We are of the view that there is a possibility that we might come across other rapes and other matters where these guys might be involved in, we don't know yet. So we are not going to be divulging much more information on these two accused, as you can readily accept," Superintendent Brown explained.

She was speaking to members of the media yesterday during a press conference called by the top brass of the Area One Police at the Wexford Hotel in this resort town.

According to the police, about 10:00 pm on September 24, two armed men entered the victims' house in the Irwin Point community and took the five female occupants to nearby bushes and raped them at gunpoint.

Four of the five were later treated at a medical facility, while the eight-year-old, who underwent emergency surgery, is yet to be released.

The incident has drawn widespread condemnation across the island.

Assistant Commissioner Devon Watkis, head of the Area One Police — which constitutes the parishes of Trelawny, St James, Hanover and Westmoreland — yesterday lauded members of the various units of the Jamaica Constabulary Force who have been probing the incident.

"The crime saw us employing all available resources, engaging all the persons we think would be able to assist us, including the head of CISOCA in Kingston and her team, and we are happy with the results," ACP Watkis said.

Acting Commander of the St James Police Division Superintendent Andrew Lewis added that the police were overwhelmed by the dastardly act. "The police, too, were devastated by this incident which captured the hearts and minds of the entire nation and as far as international communities," Superintendent Lewis said.

"...The police, as a professional body, knew what we had to do and we responded immediately by deploying all our intelligence assets and as a result of the work that was carried out on the ground, in very short order a number of suspects were taken in," he added.

Meanwhile, Superintendent Brown disclosed that the victims have been receiving counselling from the Victim Support Unit, adding that the eight-year-old girl has been responding well to treatment. "She is doing extremely well, although she is undergoing her difficult situation," she stressed.