By LEANDRA ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

lrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Marvin Dames yesterday called the rape allegation made against a Royal Bahamas Defence Force officer “concerning” and “disturbing”.

He said he hopes the investigation can be concluded soon “because we cannot allow the reputation of our agencies to be sullied”.

He also said while he is concerned about the allegation, he does not believe that safety in the workplace is a “problem” at the agency.

His comments came after the RBDF, in a statement on Monday, confirmed that an alleged rape involving an officer and marine had occurred in Mathew Town, Inagua.

The matter was turned over to police for further investigation. The alleged perpetrator is in police custody.

Asked yesterday if there was any concern within his ministry about the safety of RBDF officers as a result of the incident, the minister replied that he had none.

But he said law enforcement agencies will not tolerate such acts and allow those found guilty to go unpunished.

“Well, no concern about the safety of officers,” the Mount Moriah MP said outside Cabinet. “However, I am very concerned about the allegations. I have spoken to the Commodore at length about it and you never want to be in a position where you’re working in any environment right and persons are making allegations of that sort that they’re being harassed or assaulted by colleagues especially those in superior positions.

“And so, this is very concerning to me. I’m not passing any judgement at this time. The matter is being fully investigated by police and at the end of the day, wherever the evidence leads, I am certain the police will follow. But, I’m very disturbed and we cannot have that kind of stuff going on in any business environment much less our armed forces.”

Responding to the matter Monday, RBDF Commodore Raymond King strongly denounced all forms of sexual violence, insisting the agency will not hesitate to take action against any of its employees found committing such acts.

He urged RBDF employees to remain disciplined and ascribe to the agencies “core values, sentries of customs, and military traditions.”

In view of the incident, the commodore also said that a fraternisation policy meant to discourage “consensual intermarriages and relations” is currently being reviewed by officials.

Mr King said in a statement on Monday: “…There is no fraternisation policy in the public service or the other uniform branches in the country to discourage consensual intermarriages and relations. However, such policy is being given careful and deliberate consideration by the commander of the Defence Force at the time.”

Asked about his thoughts on such a policy yesterday, Mr Dames replied: “Fraternising policy or not, when you are employed, be it the private or public sector, you expect that you go into an environment where there is decency and respect for others no matter where they may sit in the business or an agency.

“But there are laws out there to deal with anyone who takes this position that an employee is a thing or an object especially those who are subordinates and so the law is sufficient to this point to deal with any matter of such nature and I expect that in any of these agencies, especially those that fall under my remit that the leadership will take the appropriate action to ensure that all employees are safe, but I am not concerned that this is a problem in the agency.

“However, I am concerned about the matter that had been reported a few days ago and I expect to see that that matter will be dealt with as expeditiously as possible because we cannot allow the reputation of our agencies to be sullied in such manner or any matter.”