Police are asking victims identified in the 1997 Robert Sabga report to come forward to help them build a case against their abusers.
The head of what is now named the Special Victims Department, Snr Supt Claire Guy-Alleyne, in an interview with Newsday on Thursday, said these victims' statements are now a critical element to tackle the child abuse outlined in the 25-year-old document.
Guy-Alleyne said most of the offences in the report are indictable, so there is no statutory limitation preventing police from taking action at any time, once there is evidence.
She said victims or survivors who think they would have been mentioned in the report "can come forward to us and we can interview them and we can move on from that stage.”
While police may not be able to obtain corroborating forensic evidence to support the allegations, there is still a slim window of opportunity to substantiate the claims, she said.
“If we are looking at sexual assault and sexual offences, there's no statutory limitation per se, but the clock starts ticking for statutory limitation from the time the report reaches the police. So if someone comes forward today, the clock starts ticking from today.
“We may not be able to obtain forensic evidence from 25 years ago, unless a report was made and the victim or the survivor was medically examined back then and that evidence is stored somewhere at the Forensic Science Centre."
But she stressed that the Special Victims Department's starting point is: "We believe our victims.”
Police said the first step in this investigation is to verify that the report is a legitimate document. Then, they will talk to the commissioners involved with putting together the report especially after Sabga, in a media interview recently, said the report was sanitised because the other members were uncomfortable with some of its content.
The probe was initiated at the request of the Prime Minister, who called on the police to find the report, probe its contents and hold those found at fault accountable.
His calls came after public criticism for failing immediately to address allegations in the recent Judith Jones Report on abuse in children's homes.
Opposition leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar accused Rowley of purposefully turning a blind eye on the Sabga and Judith Jones report – a recent investigation into children homes which also highlighted inhumane conditions and instances of child abuse.
Rowley slammed the opposition saying the UNC should not have "the gall to seek to scold and castigate" his administration on the issue of vulnerable children.
Soon after Rowley's call, acting Commissioner of Police Mc Donald Jacob sourced a copy of the Sabga report and handed it over to the Special Victims Department on Wednesday afternoon.
If police discover the victims' reports made 25 years ago were falsified, the investigation would move in a different direction.
Guy-Alleyne said the police were asking people not to make false allegations.
"We want you to come forward, tell the truth, and let the mat
