The Tribune

By DANA SMITH

Tribune Staff Reporter

dsmith@tribunemedia.net

ALMOST a year after the tragic death of 11-year-old Marco Archer, one noted activist group says a Sexual Offenders Register is still an initiative they “firmly” believe the country needs.

Executive director of Bahamas Against Crime, Rev CB Moss said yesterday he’s still in full support of such a register, explaining sex crimes are so “heinous” that he cannot come up with any reason for not supporting it.

It was last year after Marco Archer disappeared on September 23 and was found dead five days later, believed to have been sexually assaulted, that many Bahamians, including the Bahamas Against Crime organisation, first called for a register.

“We still believe very firmly in the need for a sexual offender register,” the former PLP senator said. “We feel that this register should be implemented by the government, because the government would have the resources to follow up everybody to make sure that it’s properly vetted and that it’s accurate. The government has access to all records that private organizations do not have.”

The government also has a “mandate” to protect society from sexual predators and that responsibility should not fall to private organisations, Rev Moss said.

“I know that there are two sides to the issue,” he said. “The Bahamas is a small society and once a person is placed on that register it could be said that person is stigmatized.

“But the truth of the matter is, while I agree that a person should not carry a stigma for the rest of their lives for perhaps an indiscretion, the importance of protecting the general society – particularly children – from such a person, is so important that it overrides any personal concerns for the individual.”

Noting the country has “hundreds” of organisations and churches that rely on volunteers, he explained such a register could allow for thorough background checks.

“It’s so easy for a predator to just slip in there and wreak havoc before he or she is discovered. But with a register, at least it gives interested persons – hopefully parents and other persons in charge of organizations – an opportunity to check,” Rev Moss said.

He also explained that the list would allow for law enforcement to quickly compile suspects.

“If something occurs, like a child goes missing, the first thing authorities do is contact those persons in the general community who have been convicted of a sex offence,” Rev Moss said. “It would save time in the event of them investigating any disappearance of a child.”

The register would also require persons convicted of a sex crime to inform law enforcement if they are changing their address, Rev Moss continued, noting that he also believes communities should know if a neighbour has been convicted of such a crime.

“I am not saying that I support just casually publicising this list. I believe the list should be kept somewhat confidential... But I do know that having considered the rights of the individual against the rights of the wider community, I am falling on the side of the community. I feel that such a register should be made.

“I don’t think there are very many crimes that are more heinous than what happened to that Archer boy.”

Rev Moss said Bahamas Against Crime has taken a back-seat to the proposal of a register because another organisation has already taken up the task, but they are still very committed in support.

“While we still are involved, we did not feel the need to lead as the other organisation had already started out,” he said. “One of the problems as we see in the country is too many organizations are duplicating efforts so what you end up having is a scarcity of resources and a duplicated effort just weakens the whole thing.”

He added: “We don’t feel that we have to lead, but we will support any effort. We’ll do whatever we need to do.”