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JAM | Jun 7, 2023

Religious sect at centre of ongoing security operations in St James

/ Our Today

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Members of the security forces are today (June 7) conducting an operation on the grounds of the Bayith Yahweh religious sect in the community of Paradise in Montego Bay, St James.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Stephanie Lindsay, head of the Corporate Communications Unit, confirmed with Our Today that operations are still ongoing.

It is understood that the joint police-military presence was in response to alarms raised by the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA).

Several women and children have since been taken into custody.

The sect was first thrust into the spotlight in November 2019, when members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) conducted a case conference with ex-members of Bayith Yahweh amid allegations of child sexual abuse.

Some months earlier, in defiance of requests by State agencies to gain access to its Paradise premises to check on the well-being of young female members, leaders of the sect staged a standoff by chaining the gate shut and forming a human barrier.

More details to come.

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Bayith Yahweh Child Protection and Family Services Agency Jamaica Jamaica Constabulary Force Montego Bay Paradise religious sect SSP Stephanie Lindsay St James

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