How Could You? Hall of Shame-Trinidad & Tobago-Lady Hochoy Home

This will be an archive of heinous actions by those involved in child welfare, foster care and adoption. We forewarn you that these are deeply disturbing stories that may involve sex abuse, murder, kidnapping and other horrendous actions.

From Cocorite, Trinidad & Tobago, “forclose to 60 years, the Lady Hochoy Home in Cocorite has offered a haven for children with intellectual disabilities. Since its opening in 1961, the home has been run by the Corpus Christi Carmelite Sisters. Widely regarded as one of the brightest lights in the field of social work, it has provided care for the children, while catering to their developmental needs.

However, as this Guardian Media investigative report will reveal, there are now some questions that need to be answered.

The home of care has allegedly become a home of hurt and, according to whistleblowers, those responsible for the home are failing to act on reports of abuse, choosing instead to sweep them under the carpet. According to multiple sources, who said they have made numerous complaints to the institution’s management as well as the Children’s Authority, not enough is being done to protect the vulnerable minors at the home.

The claims of abuse are now being investigated by the Children’s Authority and the T&T Police Service. As part of the inquiries, police executed a search warrant on the home’s compound on Thursday morning and the matter was referred to the Child Protection Unit.

Before being sent the pictures of alleged abuse via email by Guardian Media, the Children’s Authority said it had received complaints of physical and sexual abuse at the home.

The authority said it had undertaken investigations and that in one instance, following a report of physical abuse, the management of the home suspended a staff member and the school was mandated to send the employee for training. The authority said a police investigation into the matter was ongoing.

According to the authority, it monitors and evaluates all Children’s Homes to ensure compliance with standards of operation in the provision of care and protection of the children at their residences.

Meanwhile, a social worker, as well as other sources, said they have questions about the relationship between a former executive of the Children’s Authority and the management of the Lady Hochoy Home.

Haniff Benjamin, listed on his Facebook page and LinkedIn profile, is president and CEO at The Centre for Human Development Group of Companies Limited. The business provides psychological, social service and training, and development consulting.

Guardian Media contacted Benjamin about the pictures and whether he had a business relationship with the Lady Hochoy Home. He first addressed the company, denying that he has a business relationship with the home’s management.

“No, we have not had private training with them. They may have participated in the public training,” he said.

He then addressed the pictures and questions of abuse, saying, “You’d also understand that due to the diagnosis of these children, they are prone to self-damage.”

Guardian Media pressing for further information said, “But multiple whistleblowers, and even parents of some of the children, claim there is abuse taking place…They separately support claims.”

Benjamin, via WhatsApp, later responded, “Ok. I would love if you can get them to reach me.”

Benjamin’s term in office as chairman of the Children’s Authority came to an end recently.

The Lady Hochoy Home: We don’t know about abuse

Unaware of the pictures that Guardian Media received and forwarded to the police, the principal of the Lady Hochoy Vocational Home, Sister Bertill Dean, claimed that while the situation at the school was very difficult, there was no physical abuse taking place.

“Physical abuse? Not really. Long time we used to beat children. That doesn’t happen really, since they changed the rules/law. We have problems with children, but we don’t know about abuse,” Dean said in a telephone conversation.

“I did have one case where a staff member hit a child, but she was suspended for two weeks,” she added.

Despite several people coming forward with information to Guardian Media, the principal said there was one disgruntled staff member who is making up stories to get other staff members in trouble.

Saying other staff members don’t want to work with that employee, Dean said she doesn’t know what to do with that worker anymore.

“She went to the Children’s Authority but the authority didn’t find anything,” she said.

Physical, emotional, sexual abuse?

Those at the facility, most under the age of 18, have little choice but to trust staff. But for some, that trust is seemingly being abused. Victims of alleged physical, mental and sexual abuse have been taken advantage of by at least two members of staff.

In the last 12 months, two students who were seen in pictures purportedly tied to burglar proofing or chained to bed frames, or with purported injuries, were transferred from the home to the St Ann’s Hospital. They were mentioned in formal reports against members of staff.

It has been alleged that at the facility, children were tasered by a member of staff and are tied up for hours, even as long as days at a time. One of the sources recalled an incident when one of the children was allegedly severely punished for misbehaviour. Her story was supported by another source.

“She tied his hands, with his feet stretched out. When it was time for feeding, she didn’t feed him,” the person recalled.

”I passed near him and he started to cry out, saying, ‘Aunty, I know you love me, could you untie me?'”

The employee said she decided to give it three hours to see if their colleague would let him go. Three hours later, the child remained in the same position.

“I realised that he wasn’t getting anything to eat. I took a sandwich, brought it to his mouth and told him to eat quickly. I said to him, don’t let her know that I fed you,” the worker recalled.

The enraged worker said that after a while, she cut him loose. But she said this didn’t go down well with other members of staff, who confronted her. After making a report to the supervisor, the worker said she was told by her manager that she was becoming “a thorn in her flesh.”

“I could understand if it is you don’t want to send the person home, but you are not dealing with it. You are not even sending the person home for some days. You are not moving the individual from the child, to protect the child,” the source lamented.

Another former employee, who also resigned, said she witnessed several similar incidents.

“It was overbearing. Some of the staff wouldn’t feed the children. They would beat the children. It’s a sad thing because children can’t speak for themselves.

“I know the nuns there know, but they just didn’t care. They would say they would talk to the person accused, and that’s that,” the source said.

“You will see staff acting as if it’s men fighting other men, banging children’s heads against the rail, banging their heads against the burglar proofing.”

Among many incidents, she recalled a member of staff punching a child in his mouth for taking too long to respond verbally. As confirmed by the home, as well as the Children’s Authority, a member of staff was subsequently suspended for two weeks for allegedly punching a child in her face. That, however, was a separate incident.

Sources said that two-week suspension was a one-off, adding that most abuses go unnoticed, unreported and unpunished.

A source claimed that on another occasion, she walked in on a staff member attacking a child on the floor.

“He was acting out because he was being placed into a new institution. He was not comfortable where he was then, and the staff kicked him on the ground,” she claimed.

In another incident, a hungry child stole some food before lunch was ready. As retribution, a member of staff made him drink a large quantity of water.

“She gave him a mug of water for him to drink. He drank the mug of water and started bringing it up one time. Since then, the child has been bringing his food up,” she said.

There are also allegations of sexual abuse from children there as well.

“(Name of the child called) came one day and told me she was interfering. I said, what happened? He kept repeating my name and pointing (to their private area),” a source said.

Asking the child when the incident occurred, the source was told that the alleged abuse took place when the child went to take a bath. The person sent a report to management but instead of an investigation being launched, the child was sent to St Ann’s Hospital. He is still there.

“I find the children are not being heard. They put the children as if they are liars,” the person said.

“I witnessed a member of staff biting a child. I wrote a report in the report book. I went down and I reported it to management. You feel they do anything?

“They are protecting the staff. They are trying to keep their image clean, as far as I’m concerned,” one source claimed.

“If you come with a complaint, you should shut up. Whatever you see, you should sweep it under the carpet. Say nothing and you will be liked,” another source added.

Asked how they would describe the authority’s response to their complaints and reports, they said, “Negative. Negative. Negative. Negative. Negative.

“They are waiting until the children turn 18 to start something. They prolong it for as long as they can. By the time they come by, there’s no evidence–whether it’s a bruise or a cut. They are failing the children.”

A senior social worker, familiar with the claims of abuse at the home, also believes that the authority is failing to protect the children. The person said there was a gap in the system which results in cases of supposed abuse not being fully investigated promptly.

The role of the Children’s Authority

The Children’s Authority, as authorised under the Children’s Authority Act 2000, has the power to monitor community residences, foster homes and nurseries, as well as to conduct periodic reviews to determine their compliance with such requirements.

The authority also has jurisdiction to investigate complaints from children, staff, as well as guardians with respect to any child who is in the care of a community residence, foster home or nursery.

Under the act, failure to comply with required standards and any incidences of mistreatment of children in such places may result in the issue of revocation of licences under the Children Residences, Foster Care and Nurseries Act.

A Mother’s Wish

“If I was in a better position, I would have taken him out. I does pray for them children. All of them,” said Antonia, as she cried.

“They not supposed to be treated like this. They can’t be taking advantage of our children so.”

Antonia, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, is a parent of a child at the Lady Hochoy Home.

At the age of ten, her son arrived at the home, transferred from another institution in west Trinidad.

“It never used to happen to him at a different home,” she lamented.

As she spoke to us, the faint sound of a book’s pages being turned gets frantically louder.

“I keep a book, you know,” she said.

When the abuse began, the mother made a promise to those she knew that she’d get justice one day. In the book, she jots down notes about what her son told her about incidents.

“Why I shouldn’t trust my son? They took advantage of him,” Antonia said, angered.

“They told him nasty words. They were cussing him and telling him to mind his own business. They told him he was ugly. The staff member said she doesn’t like him,” she read nervously from the first page.

The next page read, “They beat up his head, bad, bad.”

Without a doubt, she claimed, there are other children there being hit, cursed, and even tied up.

“Whenever I go to see him at home, he’s sad. I have to get the stories out of him,” Antonia said.

A police report about physical abuse was made by the parent at the St James Police Station, but nothing came out of it.

“I tell them everything. That they real brutalising him and taking advantage of him,” she said about the report.

“I make them and I never hit any of my children,” Antonia said, just before our conversation ended.

Deyalsingh: There are acceptable and unacceptable forms of restraint

According to psychiatrist Dr Varma Deyalsingh, while restraining patients is sometimes necessary, there are acceptable forms of restrains.

He said physical restrain can involve the use of leather straps, for example, to tie a patient to a bed. Asked about tying patients to burglar proofing and chaining them to beds, he repeated there are “acceptable and unacceptable” forms of restraint.

“All these homes should be monitored. And just as we had cases with the geriatric homes and they weren’t monitored properly, all institutions with patients, old or young, we need proper check and balance.”

He called for spot checks at homes to make sure they are doing the right thing.”

Police, Children’s Authority probe alleged abuse at Lady Hochoy Home
[Trinidad & Tobago Guardian 8/31/2020 by Joshua Seemungal]

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