A Vincentian woman, La Fleur Spring, who resides in Canada, has provided a detailed and deeply troubling account of what she says her 11-year-old niece disclosed to her regarding alleged sexual abuse, as she raises serious concerns about the pace and handling of the police investigation and the wider child-protection response.
Spring, who currently holds legal custody of the child, said she decided to speak publicly after what she described as months of limited progress following a report made to the Georgetown Police Station in September 2025. She maintains that despite medical findings, formal police statements, and repeated engagement with authorities, the matter has not been treated with the urgency or transparency required in a case involving a minor.
“This is a child who trusted adults and institutions to protect her,” Spring said. “Right now, it feels like she is being failed.”
Background: A Child Already at Risk
According to Spring, the child’s mother is deceased, and the girl has experienced years of instability, moving between relatives and caregivers under informal arrangements.
She said the child’s circumstances made her especially vulnerable and in need of consistent care, supervision, and emotional support.
Spring alleged that before the sexual-abuse report, the child had been subjected to physical abuse while living with a relative. That situation reportedly came to light when the child arrived at school with a visibly bruised and swollen eye. A teacher, concerned about the child’s safety, contacted the authorities.
Following that report, the child was taken to the welfare office in Kingstown.
Spring said she was not fully informed about the decisions made concerning the child’s placement. She later discovered, she said, that the child was no longer living with the relative she had been told was caring for her — a development that raised serious concerns in her mind about oversight, communication, and child-welfare decision-making.
Court Orders and Custody
Court documents confirm that on April 2, 2025, Spring applied to have the child removed from the St. Benedict’s Day Nursery facility in Georgetown, citing concerns about the child’s welfare and overall safety.
The court granted her temporary custody from April 2 to July 30, 2025.
In July 2025, Spring was awarded permanent custody, giving her full legal responsibility for the child’s care and protection.
However, because Spring resides in Canada and was required to return to work, temporary care arrangements were made locally, with the court’s awareness. Spring said she continued to provide financial support to ensure the child’s basic needs were met during her absence.
The Disclosure: “She Come Back and Tell Me”
Spring said the child disclosed the alleged abuse during a visit to St. Vincent and the Grenadines in early September 2025.
She explained that while travelling together in a vehicle, she gently asked the child whether anyone had ever harmed her in a sexual way, because she notice the child had torn underwear and strange vaginal infection. The child did not respond at the time.
Later that same day, Spring said, the child returned to the conversation on her own.
“She come back to me and say, ‘Aunty, you remember what you ask me in the van?’” Spring recalled. “When I told her yes, she said, ‘It happen to me.’”
Spring said she then asked the child whether she understood what sexual assault meant. According to her, the child responded clearly and confirmed that she did.
The aunt alleged that the child identified a 16-year-old boy living in the household and later stated that the boy’s grand-father was also involved. Spring said the child described the alleged abuse as happening more than once, and was able to identify specific rooms where the incidents allegedly occurred.
According to Spring, the child said she cried and begged for the behaviour to stop, but was warned to “keep quiet” by the educator from Pamelus Burke Government School who told the child not to make noise in her house she pays rent for, whilst the educator witness the act happening by her 16-year-old-son.
The child later said that the Primary School Teacher’s father also sexually assulted her, and made comments saying: “Yo body is mines, you ah my property”
“She tell me she was crying and telling them to stop,” Spring said. “No child should ever have to say that.”
Confrontation With the Teacher (Child’s Ex Care Giver)
Spring said she later confronted the ex-caregiver who is a teacher at the Pamelus Burke Government School who arrived with her teenage son. According to Spring, the child repeated the allegations directly in their presence.
“She look him straight and say he do it,” Spring said, adding that the child stated the alleged abuse was not a one-time incident.
Spring further alleged that the teenage boy apologised to the child during the encounter.
“I ask myself, why you apologising if nothing never happen?” Spring said.
She also alleged that the Primary School Teacher acknowledged being aware that something inappropriate had been happening but did not report the matter to police at the time.
Spring said she asked them to leave her home immediately.
Police Report and Medical Examination
Following the disclosure, Spring said she took the child to the Georgetown Police Station, where formal statements were recorded.
The child was later taken to hospital on September 8, 2025, for a medical examination.
According to Spring, the medical findings were consistent with sexual abuse and were submitted to Police at the Georgetown Police Station.
Cliplet News understands that PC Butler is attached to the investigation.
Spring said police arrested both the teenage boy and the older man, but released them within approximately three hours without charge.
“That part hurt me the most,” she said. “Because this is a child.”
Ongoing Concerns About the Investigation
Spring said police later requested that the child return to the residence to identify where the alleged incidents occurred — an experience she described as distressing and emotionally difficult for the child.
She said she requested a copy of the police report and was informed it would cost EC$100 and take approximately two weeks. Months later, she claims she has still not received the document.
She also raised concerns about what she described as a lack of communication and urgency from the Police Officer attached to the case.
According to Spring, after a previous media report was published by Cliplet News, police attempted to contact her today December 11th 2025 and left a voice message stating that the report had been written and forwarded to Kingstown for signing.
Child’s Well-Being
According to Spring, the child has since been transferred to another school but continues to experience emotional and psychological distress.
She said the child is receiving counselling and has shown signs of trauma.
“This change her,” Spring said. “She need protection, stability, and to know that what she say matter.”
Police Response
Cliplet News contacted the Royal St. Vincent and the Grenadines Police Force (RSVGPF) for comment. A police officer confirmed that the matter remains under investigation but declined to provide further details, citing the sensitive nature of cases involving minors.
Call for Accountability
Spring said her decision to speak publicly is driven not only by concern for her niece, but by broader concerns about the protection of vulnerable children.
“This is about accountability,” she said. “Children deserve to be protected, and cases like this must be taken seriously — every time.”
Cliplet News will continue to monitor this matter and provide updates as more information becomes available.
