By RASHAD ROLLE
Tribune Staff Reporter
rrolle@tribunemedia.net
AUTHORITIES have received several complaints of voyeurism alleged to have been committed by police constable Edmund Lewis Jr, Commissioner Ellison Greenslade said during a press conference yesterday.
He spoke minutes before Lewis was charged in the Magistrate’s Court with producing child pornography.
Mr Greenslade also revealed that another police officer has been arrested and is likely to be charged in connection with the matter as well.
Videos, allegedly of Lewis committing sexual acts with various women went viral Thursday, attracting widespread attention around the country.
It has been alleged that the videos were published and, in some instances, taped without consent.
Mr Greenslade said Lewis has not yet been discharged from the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF).
He said: “The officer is not discharged at this point. The procedure is that the officer has to appear before the courts and the court will offer some position. The (matter) then returns to me. Based on the courts adjudication in the first instance and as commissioner, I take a decision.”
He added that based on dialogue he has had with members of the public, he expects more people to come forward with complaints.
“We received over the past day, a number of reports of voyeurism, that is publications in cyber space of sexually explicit performances on the part of residents and citizens in the Bahamas,” he said. “Subsequently to the initial reports we received, we have also received formal complaints. As a result of this, we are able to tell you, we have taken into custody, we have arrested a 28-year-old male, a police officer, who in very short order will be going before the magistrate’s court charged with criminal or criminal offences in respect to those complaints that have been made. I wish to indicate that we have received so far a number of complaints. We suspect, so far based on the conversations that we’ve been having with the wider public, that far more complaints (will be forthcoming) and so this appears to be an investigation that might be very protracted, but it will be very deliberate and very focused.”
In one video that went viral, the accused was seen being attacked by a woman apparently for filming and publishing videos displaying sexual content.
Mr Greenslade said Lewis has since filed a formal complaint with the force in respect to that matter.
“It’s a complaint we’ve taken properly,” he said, adding: “It’s not for us to judge or take a final position.”
Regarding the second officer likely to face charges, Mr Greenslade said: “Based upon the information I have and the directions I’ve given, it appears we may take a separate police officer into custody. That has not already happened. I’m getting a nod that indicates that the second officer, an adult male, is also in custody, and in all probability will likewise be charged before the criminal courts. We’re not able to proffer the charges against the second officer this afternoon. Certainly it will be forthcoming very, very soon.”
Urging the general public to be forthcoming with respect to the matter, Mr Greenslade insisted that authorities will treat the matter with due sensitivity.
“We know there are many persons out there that are very, very aggrieved, very disturbed and might be uncertain as to how to proceed,” he said. “We are going to offer the greatest measure of confidentiality, but at the same time we might have any number of persons in the wider community who might feel disaffected and we’d like to invite them to turn up and see us so we might discuss the issues affecting you.”
While declining to talk specifics about the case involving Lewis, Mr Greenslade spoke generally about police officers who contravene the organization’s strict codes of conduct, saying they will face swift punishment.
“Where officers run afoul of the criminal code and certainly contravene our discipline code, we are going to take every sure and swift action to ensure that the behaviours are not repeated and certainly we are going to continue to hold in trust for the Bahamian people all that is right and decent,” he said. “I am not as commissioner going to accept any behaviour that falls below the standard which is expected of law enforcement officials in the Bahamas. And so I again commend the officers for the good work they are doing. The majority of our people are decent, hardworking citizens. I’m not going to give respite to anyone that commits a criminal offence or any act that is egregious to cause the country any disaffection towards us. This kind of behaviour, certainly, is behaviour that can do untold damage and erode the confidence of the wider public in the members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force.
Nonetheless, Mr Greenslade warned that many other Bahamians might be in the “red zone” when it comes to cyber space.
“I hasten to tell you that based upon what I’m now hearing and what I’ve been hearing for some time there are lots of people that may be in the same improper zone in cyber space, doing things that are contrary to the law. I advised the acting deputy that there is a real possibility that a lot more complaints will be made now.”
Mr Greenslade said neither Lewis nor the other officer in custody have been a problem for the force before now.
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