(Trinidad Guardian) A public register of sex offenders will not carry their names but their locations – plus it won’t carry information on those already convicted and imprisoned for sex offences.
And discussions are on to have law to nail culprits engaging in voyeurism and to criminalise revenge porn including leaking intimate pictures, and video of someone they know. There’s no law for the latter currently.
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi was piloting amendment to the Sexual Offences Act to establish a Sex Offenders Register – the second such attempt after the first failed after lack of Opposition support. This bill, however, only requires simple majority votes for passage and doesn’t require Opposition support.
Al-Rawi said, “We had become accustomed to T&T crying out for more to be done especially on sexual abuse.”
He noted 2, 573 reported rape statistics over 2016 – 2021 but despite hundreds of incidents filed only 916 convictions over 2013 to 2018 .
Of 27,800 cases in courts, 6, 402 were for sexual abuse. “Grippingly horrific are cases of sexual abuse of children–from zero to four months,” he said, noting marches against sexual violence and calls for the vulnerable to be protected.
Under proposals, there will be two Sex Offenders Registries – a public website minus offenders’ names and a private one for police with full details.
Offenders’ full address won’t be given – only their area. He said this is to prevent victimisation.
Al-Rawi also said thousands of people with convictions prior to the coming into force of the registers, won’t be listed on them.
He explained this was because when those people were convicted the court didn’t order that they be listed in a register. But the registers will include those with convictions locally and internationally covering migrants and deportees. They’ll have two days after arriving to report to a police station.
Offenders can apply to the courts if they don’t wish to be listed on the public register.
Government also wants to consider a register of those with sexual offences charges.
He said, “When T&T rises up and asks how monsters are walking around with 10 to 14 charges, it’s because there was no such register.”
Regulations with the amendments also increase fines from $50,000 to $250,00 with jail terms up to six years
He said the amendment and other items flow into proposed law ahead regarding the PH/maxi/taxi driving industry.
He said people are now immune to horrible stories.
