A 65-year-old man accused of abusing a mentally impaired senior admitted yesterday that he had taken photographs of her naked as a warning to her to get dressed — but said he saw nothing wrong with that.

During an interview lasting almost two hours at the offices of The Royal Gazette, the man described how the 75-year-old woman, who is said to have the mental age of a child and has no family in Bermuda, asked him for sex on a number of occasions and regularly proposed marriage.

He said it had crossed his mind "many times" to marry her in order to go on caring for her but insisted: "I made no sexual advances to her in any way at all, not even an inkling of holding hands or anything at all."

Asked if she was capable of making decisions about marriage, he replied: "I think so, in a more of a friend atmosphere as opposed to all the ins and outs of being married. I'm very fond of her."

The National Office for Seniors (NOSPC) and the Police are investigating claims that the man, Mr. A, and his younger friend, Mr. B, physically and sexually abused and financially exploited the woman, Miss C, after moving into her home.

This newspaper is not naming the men in order to protect the identity of their alleged victim.

Mr. A described how he moved into Miss C's home permanently about six months ago after befriending her and helping her with her finances, which he said were chaotic. He said she asked him to have her power of attorney but he refused.

He asked 45-year-old painter and decorator Mr. B to move into an adjoining apartment to help with repairs at a rate of $50-an-hour.

Neither man paid rent to Miss C and she paid for groceries and household bills. The two men had previously lived together at Mr. A's home and both are still listed there on the electoral roll.

The arrangement at Miss C's house was, Mr. A agreed, unusual. "I have said: 'why this trio?'," he admitted. "It seems like an odd situation."

He said Mr. B was paid cash in hand for any work he did at the property, sometimes earning as much as $1,000 a week, sometimes less. Mr. B has said he will pay Miss C back a $10,000 advance he received for work on her home which he has not completed. Mr. A said he was also owed money from his friend.

Cabinet Minister Dale Butler said on Tuesday that a protection order had been obtained from a judge to prevent the two men from going to the woman's home.

Yesterday morning Mr. A said he knew nothing about the ban. He insisted that the authorities told him to stay at the house on Friday, after telling Mr. B to leave, and that he planned to return there last night to cook Miss C her dinner.

He called this newspaper yesterday evening to say he had visited Hamilton Police Station and been told he had to stay away from Miss C's home, so had not gone back.

Earlier, he said: "I think it's a hypocritical process. They ask you to stay Friday, Saturday, Sunday, stay the weekend, and then all of a sudden I'm not fit to be there.

"It seems a bit backward. If I was so bad, why was I allowed to be there in the first place."

Mr. A said the authorities had twice visited the property and that they seized his Kodak digital camera on their last visit.

"They picked up my camera, which I shouldn't have evidently, and there were some pictures on there of (Miss C) naked," he said, adding there were two reasons he had taken them.

"The first reason was to get her to get dressed. It was really just to warn her. I just flashed the picture. She came to me out of the bedroom to the living room, stark naked."

He added: "The other reason was, to my way of thinking, that if these allegations (of physical abuse) were being made I said, well, at her age she bruises very easily. She falls in the bath. I said that would show where any bruises were."

He added that there were no more than seven pictures and that he took them on one occasion only. "After that I just used to wave the camera and she'd go and get changed.

Mr. A said: "I think it was unfair. They grab a camera and take a look and see what's on it without me as a professional photographer having the right to edit my work. Why am I convicted, so to speak?"

He said he understood that the camera contained an image of Miss C watching a pornographic film and that after the picture was discovered she told him: "'I watched it with (Mr. B)'. She said it was disgusting."

The Royal Gazette has offered to share its notes from yesterday's interview with Mr. A with Police and the NOSPC.

Both men deny physically or sexually abusing Miss C or financially exploiting her.