Radical community-based treatment could be the key to stopping child molesters from re-offending according to family psychologist Dr. Wells Hively.

He said released offenders should be electronically tagged and be forced to take lie-detector tests and he warned certain categories of sex offenders were highly likely to re-offend.

Dr. Wells Hively, who counsels victims of child abuse at Ashton Associates and at the Family Learning Centre, said the extended family network, common in Bermuda, made it hard for victims of sex attacks to seek help as there was pressure not to rock the boat.

But ironically he believes the Island's tight-knit community is ideal for keeping tabs on released sex offenders, similar to successful schemes in North America.

He said studies done mainly in Canada had shed light on the chances of re-offending but he said treatment in prison had very little effect.

Dr. Hively said: "It's all talk in prison. The offenders are not walking by schools where they have to deal with stopping themselves from doing it again."

He said keeping offenders under the spotlight when they leave prison was the best way to curb recidivism.

"The best programmes are where everybody is involved, the offender, his employer, his family, his colleagues. He is safer when everybody knows about it. It's easier in Bermuda because it's a small community.

"I think something like that can be done and it's easier here because it's a small country.

"It's been done a little bit in Canada and the US, it's helping them and I think it could be done under the Criminal Code Amendment Act."

"It's probably the only way. He reports and other people report too. It's Megan's Law to the nth degree.

The Criminal Code Amendment Act (Number Two) is set to come into force this month. It will allow authorities to notify groups, individuals and the public about the release of sex offenders who pose a risk to the public.

If sex attackers are deemed likely to re-offend the court must impose a sentence of not less than three years and make an order that the offender must be supervised for up to ten years after their release.

But Dr. Hively went further.

"There should be lie detector tests and I would like to see electronic tagging.

"Offenders are professional secret keepers and liars, they spend all their lives keeping their inappropriate sexual behaviour secret.

"If we really want them to control themselves they have to co-operate. If they don't they will be a serious lifelong danger to the community.

"It's the only thing I can see that is really helpful. It will limit his civil rights but that was his choice in the beginning.

"The downside is that it will affect the budget for probation and parole. It takes more time to counsel people. But we are talking about paedophiles here."

Studies highlighted key indicators which showed whether offenders would be likely to re-offend, said Dr. Hively.

He said those who, before they were 21, had attacked a boy they did not know and who had also committed other offences such as breaking and entering had around a 50 percent chance of re-offending within ten years.

Conversely if the victim was a girl the attacker was related to and the attacker was over 21 and had not committed any other offence then there was only a ten to15 percent chance of re-offending.

Across the board if anyone is caught for any kind of offence the chances are they will do it again within ten to 15 years, said Dr. Hively.

He said paedophiles expressed themselves in different ways from exposing themselves, touching and full sex.

"Criminal research shows that someone who does one of those things is quite likely to do others."

He said the assault which landed an offender in court was likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.