A special Education teacher at the Stapledon School for the Mentally Retarded admitted that the facility has knowledge of several incidents of incest and sex solicitation involving mentally disabled students.
The teacher, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Persons who have special needs are often taken advantage of because they are obviously very vulnerable”.
The teacher claimed that in many cases these mentally challenged youngsters are coaxed to perform sexual favours for adult males and females “in order to receive a measly dollar to purchase a bag of chips or a can of soda when their parents or guardians are away at work”.
Although these incidents occur off the school’s campus, usually at the residence or in the communities of the special needs students, the teacher claimed that details of mnay of the cases are heard by school administrators and teachers.
The teacher shared a case in point that involved a young retarded girl who had recently contracted AIDS from her rapist, who was a person she trusted.
The teacher contended that many of the challenged students become good targets for sexual offenders, especially after completing school without having a job or appropraiet activities to keep them occupied.
The most recent statistics from 2003 have confirmed that there were 111 reported rapes in the Bahamas. Police said 50 per cent of the victims knew their assailants.
Source: Danielle Stubbs, The Tribune
