Police probe teen's rape

The brutal rape of a teenager has police searching for clues to find the perpetrator, as the victim has not been able to speak since she was found.
A source close to the probe, told OBSERVER media, that the victim, a 16-year-old girl, was attacked while at Fort James beach, in the vicinity of Millers by the Sea, on Easter Monday.
According to a police source, the teenager was found lying in the road near her home, passed out. It was her mother who actually found her late that afternoon, when she decided to go looking for the teen having realised she had been gone for too long a time to an Easter outing and had not checked in.
The mother reported the matter to the police and the girl was rushed to the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre.
Medical personnel were able to determine that the girl was violated sexually, but could get no information from her due to her traumatised condition.
Officers from the Sexual Assault Unit have also been making efforts to interview the teen since her hospitalisation, but they, too, have not been able to get any information.
Police sources said they are left to depend on the public for help in solving the case and are hopeful someone may have seen or heard something and would report it soonest. Up to last night, it was not known what time exactly the rape occurred.
Meanwhile, there has been no official statement from the police on this matter. Residents can make a report of anything they know to the nearest police station.
Rape is a serious, indictable offence in Antigua and Barbuda. It carries a maximum penalty of life in prison upon conviction.