After young daughter's ordeal, mum calls for sex offenders' register to be public
A mother whose young daughter fell prey to a sex attack while playing in their yard is calling for a sexual offenders’ register to be made public.The woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she was surprised to find there is no website listing convicted paedophiles on the Island.Her daughter, of primary school age, was approached by 77-year-old Jose Medeiros, who kissed the girl on the forehead and touched her private parts.Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo found Medeiros guilty of two counts of sexual exploitation of a young person and he was sentenced to spend three months behind bars on Friday.The mum joins campaigners like Sheelagh Cooper, of the Coalition for Protection of Children, in advocating for a register to be established for the public.Mrs Cooper said: “The provision exists in law for the creation of a register for sexual offenders; that was part of the legislation in 2000.“To my knowledge it has never been created and if it has it has never been shared with anyone, which makes it useless because the whole point of the register is to allow organisations and individuals to see who in the community might be a danger to their children.”She said the mother was “quite right” in calling for such a measure, but said another “big problem” was that provisions in law actually protected the identity of persons charged with a sex offence, up until conviction.The girl’s mother spoke to The Royal Gazette after Medieros’ sentencing and admitted she was “very happy that there has been some accountability for his actions”.“What would have been unfair is if he would have had a suspended sentence because he would have been freed as if nothing had happened.“He is being punished for a wrong he did and I can say to my children we did the right thing and followed the letter of the law and he is now being punished.”The mother recalled being home with her son and daughter last December 20 when her children were riding their bikes and playing in the yard.After 15 or 20 minutes her son came inside to use the computer; her daughter was left alone for a few minutes when the incident happened.The girl immediately told her parents she had been inappropriately touched; and they in turn called the police.Looking back, the mother said her daughter has been both scared and perplexed throughout the ordeal.Her child has had trouble sleeping and has become “clingy and reserved” and it has been a difficult time for the whole family.“She won’t go to sleep without a light on in the bedroom. My son has very restless sleep and he has had bouts of anger that hadn’t happened prior to this incident.“I do not let my kids outside without an adult. They are now (almost ten) and they can’t play outside unsupervised.“It really upsets me because that is not the Bermuda I grew up in.”The woman calls her daughter her “hero” and said she is extremely proud that she spoke up about what happened to her.She said it was her responsibility as a parent to listen and “do right by her” by filing charges: “If we didn’t [my daughter] would lose faith in being honest.”
A 77-year-old man was sentenced to three months behind bars after sexually touching a young girl playing in her yard.
Jose Torres Medeiros had denied two counts of sexual exploitation of a young person.
He was found guilty by Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo after a trial, where he was represented by defence lawyer Marc Daniels.
The court heard Medeiros touched the girl's private parts and kissed her on the forehead on December 20.
Prosecutor Maria Sofianos said he acted as a “predator” and waited for the child to be in her yard “alone, unprotected and vulnerable”.
She urged Mr Tokunbo to impose a sentence of between 18 and 24 months in jail to enforce the message “this behaviour will not be tolerated or treated lightly”.
Ms Sofianos claimed there were no mitigating factors to warrant a discounted sentence.
“His age, ailments and possible issues with alcohol did not excuse his behaviour or give him licence to move around the Island taking advantage of our vulnerable children,” she said.
Reading from a victim's impact statement by the child's parents, Ms Sofianos said the girl had been traumatised and was having trouble sleeping since the incident.
A social inquiry report showed that Medeiros did not accept responsibility or express remorse of regard for his behaviour, she added.
Mr Daniels acknowledged that a custodial sentence may have been warranted for a guilty conviction.
However he urged Mr Tokunbo to consider a suspended sentence due to the less serious nature of the touching.
He said the criminal conviction alone entered against Medeiros would send the message to the community that these types of offences will not be tolerated.
He described the senior citizen as someone of “good character throughout his years in Bermuda” who was dedicated to his job up until retirement at aged 73.
Mr Daniels disagreed with the prosecutor's statement that Medeiros was a predator. He said it was “harsh” considering no such evidence came out in the trial.
Before handing out his ruling, Mr Tokunbo said it was “a real concern” that Medeiros suggested the girl “enticed the reaction from him by her behaviour”.
“It's suggesting there was a sexual inference from her. This is a real concern. It also suggests there is some distorted thinking on his part.”
He continued: “This offence is a very serious one, but on a scale of a range from one to ten the facts do not place it in the high range. It may be no more than a five.”
Mr Tokunbo said an immediate custodial sentence was still warranted. In addition to the three-month jail term, he sentenced Medeiros to a 12-month sentence, suspended for three years.
Medeiros will also have to undergo two years of probation upon his release and was ordered to stay away from the young girl and her family.
