Jailed man’s history of assaults goes back to 1954

Jailed man’s history of assaults goes back to 1954

Mr X, the elderly man locked up yesterday for sexually abusing his adopted daughter, has a lengthy history of violence and sexual assault.

In 1954, he was convicted of sexual assault on a male.

Ten years later, he was convicted of assaulting a female.

In 1965, he was convicted of assault with intent to rape, and in a separate case, having unlawful carnal knowledge. He was jailed for a total of 11 years.

In 1976 — after his release from prison — he was convicted of assault causing grievous bodily harm to a male.

Four years later, he was convicted of assaulting a woman.

Two years after that, he was punished for uttering offensive words in Hamilton.

The current case came next — Mr X sexually abused a daughter he had adopted from a developing country over a two-year period.

Following that, but before he was charged with the abuse and remanded into custody, he assaulted his ex wife.

Yesterday, The Royal Gazette asked lawyer Rick Woolridge how Mr X could have been allowed to adopt a child from overseas, bearing in mind his history of sex offences and violence. Mr Woolridge was not involved in the current case.

He replied: “The overseas authority should have inquired about his criminal record to see if he was suitable for adoption. The Bermuda authorities, when he applied for naturalisation papers for the child, would be aware of the adoption. The question is, are the Immigration department aware of his criminal history? The onus was on the overseas authority to get a background check on the adopting parent.”

Asked whether the Bermuda Department of Immigration would have been aware of Mr X’s history, Mr Woolridge replied: “There should be cross Ministry sharing of information on sex offenders. I don’t know if there is, but if there isn’t, there should be.”

The Royal Gazette has sent questions to the Bermuda Government about the case, and will carry the response in tomorrow’s edition of the paper.