A nine-month-old boy is now dead after being viciously sodomised by a 21-year-old male relative in the community of Arnett Gardens in South St Andrew on Monday night.

The male relative, whose identity has been withheld by police, is now in the custody of officers from the Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse. He was arrested by cops from the Denham Town Police Station.

According to head of the West Kingston police division,

Superintendent Delroy Hewitt, the accused child rapist is believed to be mentally challenged and is suspected of sexually molesting the infant on more than one occasion.

“We believe that this abuse has been going on for some time.

The child died in the Bustamante Hospital for Children last night (Monday). The man in custody is our main suspect in this sordid case,” Hewitt, who was clearly shaken by the incident, told the Observer.

The child’s anus was severely ruptured and his abdomen was also badly damaged, police said last night.

Police said the child’s mother is serving a five-year sentence in the Fort Augusta Adult Correctional Centre where he was born. He was handed over to a female relative who was identified by the inmate as someone who could care for her baby.

Police say the child’s guardian left him in the custody of a neighbour when the assault occurred.

Last night, head of the Department of Correctional Services, Major Richard Reese, said the mother of the dead infant would be afforded counselling to help her deal with the tragedy.

“We have arranged for psychological support for the inmate and arranged for a visit from the child’s father,”

Reese said.

The infant is the fourth child to have met a brutal end last month. On Sunday, what is believed to be the remains of 11-year-old Ananda Dean, who had been missing for two weeks, was found in bushes in Red Hills, St Andrew by residents who went to investigate a lingering stench.

The same day Ananda went missing, the dissected body of 11-year-old Aamir Scott was found in a rice bag in bushes at Sandside in St Mary. His head, arms and legs were severed while his torso was cut in two. Police said a teenager has since confessed to the macabre murder and is now in custody.

Aamir was buried after an emotional funeral service at the Port Maria Seventh-Day Adventist Church last Sunday.

On September 9, the decomposing body of 15-year-old Baggio Easy was found in water at the edge of the Riverton City landfill in Kingston. Easy had also been reported missing by his parents, police said.