A 37-year-old accused child rapist was found dead in the Whim Police Station, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) on Sunday morning with his shirt tied around his neck to the bars of the lock-ups.
Dead is Courtney Persaud, whose last known address was in Berbice and who prior to the past 10 months, lived in the Diamond New Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara (EBD) with his wife and daughter.
Reports are that early on Sunday morning, prisoners who had shared the cell with Persaud, notified ranks on duty that the now dead man was “unresponsive” and appeared to have taken his own life.
According to a senior Police investigator, it is unclear as to whether the alleged rapist committed suicide or was murdered in the lock-ups, since there were other prisoners in the cell at the time of the man’s death.
Investigations into the matter are currently ongoing, and each of his cellmates is being questioned.
On Saturday, Police in Berbice arrested Persaud, who had been on the run for several months.
The now dead man had lived with his spouse on the EBD, but fled their residence after a report was made to law enforcement officials that he allegedly raped a close female relative and impregnated her.
However, before the Police could apprehend him, Persaud fled Region Four (Demerara-Mahaica) and ventured to Berbice, unknown to cops.
The relative, who he allegedly raped, is 17 years old and it is alleged that the man had been sexually molesting the girl since she was seven. The teen gave birth to his baby and that child is now eight months old.
Meanwhile, in Berbice, Persaud had moved into a house with another woman after they commenced a relationship. Quite recently, he fled that home after an underage female relative of the woman complained that Persaud had raped her on more than one occasions. That teen is now pregnant.
Inews was told that as a result of the complaint made against Persaud, his lover confronted him, and he denied the allegations. She then threatened that she would be reporting the matter to the Police in Region Six and this prompted Persaud to leave the home he shared with her and go into hiding. The woman reported the incident to the Police and a manhunt was started for Persaud.
After receiving a tip-off, Police nabbed Persaud on Saturday.
He was then taken into custody while investigations into the rape matters were ongoing. Less than 24 hours after being locked up in the prison cell, he was found dead.
