Attorney: Publish names of Dow Village child rapists

Former State prosecutor and city attorney Ricky Rahim is calling on the media to publish the name of every man charged with allegedly committing sexual offences on the nine-year-old girl of Dow Village. Rahim insisted that it was in the interest of the public, which includes the parents and children of Dow Village, to be aware of the names of the accused persons. He also said that the law had been amended to allow the publication of names of persons charged with sexual offences, and not only when convicted.

He argued that the publication of the names does not derogate from the principle that a man is presumed innocent until proven guilty. According to Rahim,  accused persons’ names are published in the most serious of offences such as murder, and the presumption of innocence in relation to persons accused of murder remains intact. He said, “There is in principle no reason for making a distinction between those accused of murder or other serious offences on the one hand, and those accused of sexual offences on the other.”

Supporting his contention on the right to publish names after being charged, Rahim said that Parliament, in its wisdom, may have recognised that the time has come when the names of persons accused of sexual offences may be published. Displaying a copy of the Sexual Offences Act of 2000, Rahim said the law as contained in Section 32 of the Sexual Offences Act of 1986 was amended to remove the protection from publication of the names of persons accused of sexual offences, thus clearing the way for such publication. Rahim strongly believe that we owe it to the children of this country to take the necessary steps to protect them peremptorily. Rahim then issued a challenge to the media, “to lawfully publish the name of anyone so charged less we suffer the children by our silence.”