A woman will be charged in court today with child neglect in relation to the boy whose body was found in a pond last week in a suspected drowning incident, police said yesterday. The 42-year-old woman, of Eight Street in New Providence, will be charged at 10 a.m. 

Police said the boy, Gerodo Atwill Taylor, 11, of Amos Ferguson Street, was found partially submerged in a pond on the grounds of the Oakes Field Sports Centre Golf Academy in Yellow Elder Gardens last Tuesday.

The body, which police suspected was in the pond for at least 24 hours, was found partially clothed, Chief Superintendent Chrislyn Skippings said.

At the time, Skippings warned that if police found that there was any form of child neglect related to the incident, “you will see the parent or parents being charged”.

“… I wish to send a firm message to parents that you need to know where your children are,” she said.

“You need to ensure that your children are with a responsible adult.”

Police said a group of young boys went swimming in the area around 5:30 p.m last Tuesday when they made the discovery.

One of the boys told The Nassau Guardian that golfers pay them $2 to retrieve golf balls from the pond.

Police pleaded with the family of the boy found to come forward. However, for more than 24 hours, no one did.

On Wednesday, Sergeant Desiree Ferguson, who is attached to the communications unit, said, “We are appealing to members of the public, particularly our Haitian community members, to please help us identify who this deceased child may be. We know that someone’s child is missing.

“We know that they may know who this child is in their community, and so we are asking them to please assist us in officially identifying who he may be.”

It wasn’t until Thursday that a woman turned up at the Criminal Investigation Department and officially filed a missing person report, police said.

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