The child, Jhaneel Gouldbourne, was reportedly ordered into a van by one of three armed men who drove up to her gate on Friday evening. She has not been seen or heard from since.

The policeman in question has since been taken into custody and is facing charges of carnal abuse, indecent assault and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Notably, residents of Harbour View are alleging that the policeman was being shielded by fellow police from the Harbour View station. In response to this, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mark Shields, has appealed to his colleagues to end the practice of closing ranks and protecting their own.

“We find that some police decide to stand on the wrong side of the law with a colleague who has allegedly broken the law. It’s a problem that we have. We have to make some serious cultural changes to the police service because until we do that and all police officers decide which side we stand on, then we’re going to have a serious problem,” Shields told reporters.

The incident has also reportedly drawn the ire of the Police Commissioner – Rear Admiral Hardley Lewin – and Shields has promised that there will be a probe into how the incident was handled by the Harbour View police.