TT youth cricketer claims sex abuse

Newsday understands the matter has also been reported to the Children’s Protection Authority of Trinidad and Tobago. According to a report on caribbeannewsnow .

com yesterday, the incident occurred while the team was abroad for a West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) regional tournament at a hotel room after the official invited the player for a massage to deal with an injury .

Contacted yesterday, the local cricket official being accused declined comment on the issue. But speaking to Newsday yesterday, CEO of the TTCB Suruj Ragoonath, revealed he has been made aware of the allegation and said the TTCB is carrying out its own probe into the alleged incident before any action is taken .

“I just spoke to my president (Azim Bassarath), the matter has been brought before the Executive, a committee has been set up to investigate the matter but because of the sensitivity of the situation, it is not something that we want to publicly comment on at this time .

“I cannot go into the details, but the matter has been brought to our attention and it is being investigated,” he said. Ragoonath declined to say, however, when the Committee was set up and did not elaborate on what stage the investigation is at given that the allegation occurred over four months ago. Contacted yesterday, the manager of the youth team refused to reveal whether he received a complaint from the teenage cricketer and if he forwarded that report to the TTCB .

“You really can’t be calling me to ask me that kind of question to be honest. I’m saying, you being a journalist, you should know cricket board issues are cricket board issues,” he said. Challenged that the allegation goes beyond cricket, he continued: “This is not a cricket board issue? I am not in a position to answer those kind of questions .

Did I say I received a report? If I’m manager of the cricket team, I am the manager of the cricket team .

the only people I answer to are the people who put me as manager...If I am away and manager of a national team, I cannot be answering to the media or any individual about who made runs (or) who did not make runs (or) who bowled properly. If I find in my opinion the coach performed well, those are issues I answer to the TTCB.”