EWARTON: Man tries to bribe child with briefcase of money and phones
August 30, 2019A 14-year-old child said she was left traumatized on Tuesday afternoon (August 27) after a middle-aged man tried frantically to lure her, even showing her a briefcase of money and phones before he drove away when he realized that she remained disinterested.
The child, whose mother agreed for her to be interviewed, told The Beacon that the ordeal started shortly before 5PM near the gas station in Ewarton town centre, St Catherine.
She was heading towards the taxi stand used by Kellits and Lluidas Vale taxi operators.
The child explained that, while she was passing the gas pump where a middle-aged man was purchasing petrol for a white van, the man started to make sexual advances.
“He walked up and told me he likes how I walk and he was asking if he could get my number. I told him I don’t have a phone or a number,” the child recalled, adding that the man continued to follow her towards the taxi stand.
A pump attendant at the gas station eventually called the man to pay for the petrol, causing him to temporarily abort his pursuit of the child.
The child said the man returned moments later with a briefcase, which she initially thought contained a gun.
“When he came across and opened the briefcase, there were coils of money and five different phones inside,” the child disclosed, adding that the man continued to appeal for her to accept the money and phones.
When she did not budge, the man eventually went inside the white van and drove in the direction of Linstead.
“When he left, I started to panic,” the child said. “I didn’t call or tell anybody in Ewarton. When I reached home, I told mommy, grandma and my aunt.”
The child, who is now pondering what would have happened if she had fallen prey to the stranger’s inducement, appealed for other children to avoid being gluttonous.
“Don’t let any stranger bribe you with money or phones or little gifts,” the child advised while describing the man who tried to lure her.
“He was slim, black, had moustache, had on darkers, and was in a button-front shirt and a black pants and a pair of black shoes.”
The child’s grandmother, in the meantime, said the family was ‘frightened’ when the minor explained what had transpired.
“Wi grow her to not take things from strangers,” the grandmother further told The Beacon.
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