Rapist beats six-month-old baby

A MAJOR manhunt has been launched by Southern Division detectives for three armed men who carried out a reign of terror on a South family over the weekend, in which a six-month-old baby boy was beaten by one of the men while his mother was raped in the presence of her helpless husband. The terror ordeal which occurred on Sunday has left the family severely traumatised. According to police reports, around 8 pm the 32-year-old man was relaxing at his South Trinidad home with his teenaged wife and their baby son, when they were alerted by the sounds of dogs barking outside. When the man went to investigate the cause for the dogs’ barking, he was accosted by three men — two of whom were armed with guns while the third had a cutlass — and beaten, before being forced back into the house.

The intruders robbed the family of $700 cash and over $4,000 in jewelry. One of the intruders then attacked the woman while his colleagues kept her helpless husband at bay. The man reportedly forced the woman to strip and then raped in the presence of her husband. During the assault, the couple’s baby started to cry. Afraid that neighbours would wonder why the baby was crying for so long, the rapist reportedly dealt the child several slaps and threatened further violence to the baby if the couple could not keep him quiet. After the rape, the three intruders fled the scene and the victims telephoned the police.

Officers hurried to the scene and carried out a search of the area for the bandits, but no one was held. The mother and her child were taken to the San Fernando General Hospital where she was medically examined by the District Medical Officer (DMO) who confirmed that she was sexually assaulted. The baby boy, who was not badly injured during the ordeal, was also medically examined. Up to late yesterday the manhunt was still being carried out. Police visited the scene of the crime yesterday to carry out follow-up investigations including searching for fingerprints and other evidence. Detective Constable Levia is heading investigations.