{"id":260844,"date":"2025-12-10T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-10T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=260844"},"modified":"2025-12-09T19:50:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T23:50:24","slug":"turners-budget-debate-speech-turns-emotional-as-he-recounts-children-tied-beaten-and-starved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/turners-budget-debate-speech-turns-emotional-as-he-recounts-children-tied-beaten-and-starved\/","title":{"rendered":"Turner\u2019s Budget Debate Speech Turns Emotional as He Recounts Children Tied, Beaten and Starved"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Turner\u2019s Budget Debate Speech Turns Emotional as He Recounts Children Tied, Beaten and Starved<\/strong><\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Social Transformation Minister Rawdon Turner delivered one of the most emotional presentations of the 2026 Budget Debate on Monday as he read out a series of recent child-abuse cases handled by his ministry, describing situations in which children were raped, beaten, starved and restrained in their homes.<\/p>

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Turner began by outlining a case involving a nine-year-old girl who walked into a police station in pain, with \u201ctears drying on her cheeks,\u201d after her stepfather assaulted her. He said the child told her mother what happened but was initially dismissed when the mother replied, \u201cNot my man,\u201d insisting her daughter was lying. Staff from the ministry spent from 7 p.m. until 5:30 a.m. trying to convince the mother to protect her child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He then detailed the case of a young boy who came to school bruised, malnourished and silent. Turner’s officers were told the child\u2019s father had repeatedly beaten him with a 2×4 board<\/strong>, leaving his arm unable to hang properly. \u201cFierce blows from a two-by-four at nine years old,\u201d Turner said, adding that the child was \u201cterrified\u201d and \u201ccovered in scars.\u201d<\/p>

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The minister also described an incident in which officers responded to reports that a child had been beaten over three consecutive days. When they arrived, he said a lawyer stood at the door attempting to block the police and social workers from entering. Inside, they found a small boy with ligature marks on his hands and feet, \u201cstarving, wounded and silent,\u201d tied to a bed.<\/p>

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Turner commended child-protection staff for their work, saying he regularly receives late-night alerts from officers responding to emergencies. \u201cThey don\u2019t work from 8 to 4:30. They work 24 hours when it comes to the children of this country,\u201d he told Parliament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He also criticised the use of gender-based violence and child-abuse cases for political content on social media. Turner urged the Opposition to discourage supporters from posting videos and personal details of victims online, calling the behaviour \u201cvexing\u201d and warning that it often interferes with active interventions. \u201cYou don\u2019t shame a child who\u2019s been abused,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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Turner ended with a promise to the nation\u2019s children, pledging to continue advocating to the Attorney General, the police, the Cabinet and the Parliament to strengthen protections. \u201cWe must do better as a people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

WATCH:<\/strong> Full clip of Turner\u2019s emotional presentation is available at the end of this report.<\/p>

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