The Tribune

By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune News Editor

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

POLICE took Sidney Cooper, a serial groper whose prison release authorities publicised,  into custody for his own protection yesterday after he was wrongfully accused of trying to abduct a 12-year-old girl. 

“Residents, assuming the culprit was Sidney Cooper, converged at his residence on Fifth Street, Coconut Grove, armed with rocks, bottles and cutlass,” police said in a statement advising that Cooper was not the culprit.

A viral video showed Cooper in cuffs as an officer detained him. The man recording the video threatened to attack him.

However, police said the real culprit was a tall, bald-headed, “bright” man who tried to abduct the girl yesterday.

Cooper was released from prison last week Friday. Police did not confirm up to press time whether he remained in custody. 

Yesterday’s incident may renew concerns among some about the spectacle of hosting a press conference warning the public about a sex offender’s release.

The Registration of Sex Offenders Regulations allow authorities to notify the public about offenders leaving prison to heighten awareness of their presence in an area. However, they do not specify how the public must be notified.

Cooper, who was convicted of 20 sexual assaults over nearly 20 years, is the second person about whom National Security Minister Wayne Munroe hosted a press conference to warn the public.

The first man, Alden Scott, 55, was found dead on a track road in Yellow Elder Gardens less than a week after he was released from prison. He reportedly suffered from injuries to his body. Authorities claimed he died from natural causes.

Cooper’s criminal history mainly involves indecent assault convictions.