By Nalinee Seelal Sunday, January 29 2012

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A second student of Blackman’s private school has come forward and reported to police, he was one of two students whose head was placed in a toilet bowl and flushed at the school’s compound last Monday.

Yesterday, the student, Josiah Richmond, 10, of Diego Martin, accompanied by his mother, Nikesha, and Kaya Rullow, the first student who reported the toilet flushing assault, and his father, Carver Rullow, returned to Blackman’s Private School with police officers. The two students showed the officers the toilet area and the toilet bowl where their heads were placed and flushed by school’s principal, Arlene Blackman.

Carver Rullow yesterday told Sunday Newsday that he was summoned to a meeting at the Port-of-Spain CID yesterday by Actg ASP Ajith Persad, who briefed him and the other parent about the status of the police investigation into the alleged assault.

He said he and his son, along with the other child and his mother, accompanied a police photographer and a police draughtsman to the school’s compound, located at Saddle Road, Maraval, where photographs were taken of the toilet and the toilet bowl where the two boys’ heads were placed in and flushed.

Rullow also revealed that a police draughtsman did drawings of the toilet area where the alleged incident involving the two boys took place. He admitted that during the visit to the school, the two boys appeared a bit apprehensive about reliving the ordeal, but said they eventually answered all questions posed to them by the police and pointed to the area where the incident took place.

He also revealed that brief statements were recorded yesterday at the Port-of-Spain CID from the parent of the other boy. Rullow, who has since removed his son from the school because other students have been calling his son “toilet boy”, added his son is coping very well. He noted, however, that he is searching for another school to enroll him in.

He said while at the school compound yesterday he had a conversation with the parent of the other boy who suffered the same fate as his son and she expressed “outrage, anger, disappointment, frustration, embarrassment and other emotions” as a result of what happened to her 10-year-old son. Rullow said that child’s mother has since consulted her attorneys, who are now seeking her interest in the matter. Rullow said he was hoping that swift justice takes its course and that no other student is ever subjected to any situation similar to what his son and his classmate suffered.

“This is not something which can be swept under the carpet and forgotten, because no child should ever endure what those two boys went through and I am happy that the police seem to be moving swiftly to bring closure to this investigation. However, I feel a little better because the other student has come forward and the full story should come out now and the police seem aggressive in pursuing the issue,” Rullow said.

He said he was assured yesterday that as early as this week he will know something with respect to prosecution in the mater.

Efforts to contact the Richmond family for comment yesterday were unsuccessful. However, Sunday Newsday understands that the second student only revealed to his parents what he was subjected to on Friday morning and the matter was reported to the police later in the day.

According to reports, on Monday at around midday, Kaya Rullow and Josiah Richmond were playing a game of tag in the toilet area of the school when they were confronted by Blackman, who then allegedly placed the head of Josiah in the toilet and flushed it. She then did the same thing to Rullow. The two students were then forced to stand for close to three hours in front of their classroom.

Rullow related the incident to his father that same afternoon and a report was made to the St Clair Police Station. On Tuesday, the principal was questioned at the St Clair station, where she reportedly gave a confession statement and was cautioned. The statement was authenticated by Justice of the Peace Marissa Singh.

On Friday, principal Blackman, in a note to parents, accused the two boys of misbehaving in the school’s toilet, behaviour she claimed she has been trying to put an end to for a long time. At no time in the letter did Mrs Blackman deny putting the first victim’s head in the toilet.

It took the principal four days to respond to the story, and she did so by issuing the one-page, eight-line letter to parents, in which she stated that she was determined since the beginning of the term to deal with deviant behaviour of students. The carefully worded statement delivered to parents was a brief note to put their hearts at ease.

“I have being determined to put a stop to the report of nasty and frequent mischievous behaviour in the boys’ bathroom,” the letter stated.

Blackman also noted that principals at other schools had also expressed similar concerns about children’s behaviour. Sunday Newsday understands that the United States Embassy is taking a keen interest in this matter because Rullow is an American citizen.