Philipsburg:--- The board of the St. Maarten Academy suspended Vice Principal of the PSVE section Marvin Woods on Tuesday pending an internal investigation that is being conducted by the school board confirmed President of the School Board Alstain Van Dyke Bell. Bell said the school is busy investigating the complaints of the students and currently three of the teachers that were accused of inappropriate behavior have been suspended. They are Marvin Woods, Francisco Lacroes, and Rijnaldo Euson. SMN News has been reliably informed that detectives from the Juvenile Department of the Police Department have already visited the learning institution as they will be launching an investigation into the students' allegations.
During the Council of Ministers press briefing on Wednesday, Minister of Justice Roland Duncan responded to questions posed by SMN News regarding the scandal at the vocational school. The teachers of the St. Maarten Academy that were suspended a week ago by the school board pending an investigation can face prosecution said Minister of Justice Roland Duncan. The Minister said teachers, health care workers, police, prison guards, and other persons who are in authority over anyone have a moral obligation to uphold and if those persons acted in violation of the trust placed in them they can be prosecuted and be given at least 25% more prison time. Minister Duncan said there are laws that these types of caregivers have to abide by and if there is any evidence of sexual molestation or harassment then they can be held responsible. The Justice Minister said sexual molestation is not necessarily sexual intercourse but it could be intimidation, forcing the person to act in a certain way, touching, and there are articles in the criminal code that deals with every possible situation in cases such as these.
Minister Duncan said he is personally following the situation at the St. Maarten Academy PSVE because it's a school he was very closely connected to (he was the former president of school board and the Minister's wife is the Principal of the PSVE section of Academy).
However, the Justice Minister said the school board is still investigating the case regarding the three teachers and they have not yet filed any complaint with the police department. When asked if the age of consent will play a role in the investigation when a complaint is filed. The Minister said that compulsory education is up to the age of 18 therefore, age of consent has nothing to do with it. If anyone thinks the age of consent will play a role they are interpreting the law incorrectly. Minister Duncan said that after the school board finishes their investigation they will decide whether or not a complaint needs to be filed with the police.
