The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Senior Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

NATIONAL Security Minister Wayne Munroe said the sexual offenders register is active and being updated as required by law.

His comment was in response to questions about a man who was recently arraigned in court and is believed to be a repeat sex offender. Asked why the public was not informed about the man’s whereabouts, Mr Munroe said the law does not apply retroactively.

“The difficulty,” he said, “is, I explained when we had the issue with (the law), is it was brought into force in 2017 so it relates to people who were convicted after 2017 so if you were convicted before 2017 it doesn’t apply to you. But there is an administrator at (the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services) who runs the sexual offenders register. She is hired, she is on premises, there is a dedicated building in BDOC for it.”

Regarding the alleged repeat offender, Mr Munroe said: “He was convicted before 2017 and so if you were convicted before 2017, the Act does not apply to you. There is somebody at the prison, a lady whose entire job is managing the list. When somebody is to be released, the process is she would advise the ministry, we would consult on how we should notify the public and then we go about doing that. But all of this is triggered by the person who administers the list who is in BDOC.”

 It is not clear how many people are currently on the register.

 In November, Mr Munroe said a number of sex offenders had been released from prison without being placed on the register or complying with the reporting requirements of the law even though the register came into force two years prior.

 Calls for a sex offenders register intensified after the 2013 killing of 11-year-old Marco Archer. Kofhe Goodman was convicted of Archer’s murder.