News that two men with recent convictions for sex crimes are driving taxis on Bermuda’s roads prompted calls for answers last night.Concerns were raised that the Public Service Vehicles Licensing Board may be “very lax” in procedures when it comes to suspending or revoking criminals’ licences.Jarreau Valentine Brown-Rogers, 27, was found guilty two years ago of harassing a lone female passenger in his cab at night by asking her for sex. News that he is still working as a taxi operator emerged when he was spotted by staff from this newspaper early on Monday morning.Subsequent inquiries revealed he has a valid taxi licence, despite his criminal conviction.Meanwhile Paul Boorman, a former probationary police officer who pleaded guilty in April to accessing scores of child pornography images, is also driving a cab. Boorman, 44, is awaiting sentence by the Supreme Court. The information that he is working as a taxi operator was shared with this newspaper by a concerned member of that industry.The news prompted Shadow Transport Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin to call on the Public Service Vehicles Licensing Board [PSVLB] to explain why the men are permitted to be driving taxis.“We would call on the PSVLB to scrutinise the process which permits licensing to occur to ensure the safety of the travelling public,” she said.Brown-Rogers went on trial at Magistrates’ Court in April 2010. Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo heard how he picked up a woman in central Hamilton at 3.30am. Instead of taking her directly home, he drove to different locations, repeatedly told her he wanted to "take her upstairs," and tried to give her a condom.The woman got out of the taxi when it eventually reached her home but he followed her, taking hold of her arm, before driving off. He was convicted of invading the privacy of a woman and given a six-month suspended sentence.After the case, a Ministry of Transport spokesman declined to reveal whether Brown-Rogers would have his taxi licence revoked. However, he said the PSVLB “does everything within its remit to ensure that all persons granted a licence to operate a public service vehicle are put through an extensive vetting process.”And he said: “When incidents such as these occur, the Board does not view them lightly and makes every effort to ensure the person found guilty of an offence is brought before them and dealt with accordingly. This could range from a suspension of driving licence to operate or an outright revocation of their driving licence.”The spokesman declined to provide any update this week on how the Brown-Rogers case was handled. He also declined to answer questions about Boorman. PSVLB Chairwoman Lovitta Foggo said she was unable to comment.Brown-Rogers contacted The Royal Gazette in response to our inquiries. He said he was “disappointed, irritated and annoyed” that this newspaper planned to write a story.“I have a 21-month-old son and I have been married for a year. I don’t accept that (criminal) charge,” he said.Brown-Rogers at first stated that he does not drive a cab. Then he said he does not drive it in the evenings. Then he said he had been driving a cab for someone else until it developed mechanical problems.He also indicated that his licence was taken away after the court case, but he now has it again. He would not answer repeated questions as to when it was restored or what process he went through to get it back.Speaking about the issue, a taxi driver with more than 50 years of experience — who does not know Brown-Rogers and Boorman — told The Royal Gazette: “I don’t think either one of them should be allowed to drive a taxi until a proper time has elapsed, such as three to five years when they can reassess it. I know in past years that the PSVLB would scrutinise drivers’ backgrounds. If they had any convictions they would put them on a probation list. That should still be in operation.”However, the driver, who asked that his name not be printed, said he did not think this was being done.“If they are, they are very lax (as) I don’t see either one of these two being allowed to drive taxis,” he said.Elaine Williams of the Women’s Resource Centre said: “Although we recognise that they must live after having served their sentence, should there be limitations to the kind of work that these individuals can do? How likely is it that driving a taxi with a lone female passenger late at night will present a temptation? The problem is that we cannot answer this question, that is the danger.“Who is regulating the drivers? Should the taxi operators association be regulating who is allowed to drive? We don’t know. What we do know is that this presents a possible vulnerability to the community.”Mrs Gordon-Pamplin said of Brown-Rogers: “While the One Bermuda Alliance accepts that our residents must be able to work to sustain themselves and their families, we believe that convictions for inappropriate advances towards passengers should render the offender incapable of carrying out the job from which the conviction stemmed. A public service vehicle licence is required and one would hope that the PSVLB would exercise the necessary diligence to ensure the protection of the travelling public. Before an individual is allowed to have such a licence reinstated, there must be satisfactory evidence of rehabilitation.”She said of Boorman: “With respect to the individual convicted of child pornography, this too is an egregious offence. Our children must be protected from a predatory environment, and permission for the operation of a public service vehicle seems to ignore the basic tenets of safety that should be expected in a wholesome society.”Invited to comment, Boorman’s lawyer, Elizabeth Christopher, said: “The conviction was for looking at pictures on the internet. This is not a sexual assault or a rape."