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By Elesha George

[email protected]

The need to strike a balance between protecting potential victims of sex crimes and upholding the constitutional rights of sex offenders was the talk of Friday’s consultation on the Sex Offender Registry Bill.

After more than two hours of deliberation, lawmakers and civil society groups, while all agreed that the registry is well overdue, were in conflict over the extent to which the registry should be made accessible to the audience.

“No law will satisfy everyone. There will always be someone who will oppose it, ”remarked the chairman of the review committee and Minister of Public Safety, Steadroy Benjamin.

Board members present at the consultation included Education Minister Daryll Matthew, Gender Affairs Minister Dean Jonas and Barbuda MP Trevor Walker.

They were joined by members of the Evangelical Alliance of Antigua and Barbuda, Women Against Rape President Alexandrina Wong, teacher, lawyer and counselor Dr Cleon Athill and the drafters of the bill.

Minister Jonas has been very vocal in his support for the publication of the register, describing sex crimes as “crimes of passion” which cannot be controlled and therefore strict measures must be taken to ensure that their crimes do not risk not to repeat itself.

“We need to file a public registry especially for crimes like these. I am concerned about victims – victims and potential victims; that’s what we have to be concerned about here – protecting the children,” he argued.

Dr Athill also felt the public should have access to the register, saying sexual predators put everyone at risk.

“I think the public should be able to help the courts, the police, and the justice system keep track of this issue,” she said.

On the other hand, MP Walker opposes the register being made public, telling his colleagues that “there must be parity” so that offenders have a fair chance to live a peaceful life after the death. ‘imprisonment.

While endorsing the bill, Wong’s position was that any information to be made public must “do no harm” to the victim or the offender’s rehabilitation process.

“We need to look at how the offender can be further harmed by society. We have all these cusps, the small size of our society, the way people can be emotionally affected and everything.

“For us, the challenge is the process,” she noted.

His views were in line with those of Church officials like Bishop Mottley who insisted that the register should not hamper the process of reintegrating a person into society after serving their sentence in prison.

The process by which registry information is shared and to whom complaints would be directed was also a major topic of discussion. All agreed that a proper process must be established to protect the integrity of the list and the lives of those on it.

Minister Matthew shared that he would prefer that a unit be set up to accept requests from people who wish to request information and then have the results of that request sent to the relevant authorities who would then deal with any situation that arises.

The bill proposes that persons 18 and older who are convicted of rape by a court in Antigua and Barbuda or within the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) be compiled in a registry that can then be used to identify potential predators.

The bill talks about making the register available to directors and managers of schools, nurseries and other bodies involved in the care and education of children and vulnerable people.

It also lists the fines and penalties to which anyone who breaks the law may be liable. For example, a person who maliciously shares information obtained from the sex offender registry, once convicted, could be subject to a $10,000 fine or three years in prison.

In addition, sex offenders must register with the police after their incarceration, report any change in place of residence and inform the police of their intention to travel outside the territory.

The National Sex Offender Registry aims to reduce incidents of sexual recidivism by monitoring convicted sex offenders and sharing information with participating jurisdictions within the OECS.

On Monday, parliamentarians will establish a standing committee to finalize the legal document that will guide the register.

Opposition Leader MP Jamale Pringle and Maria Bird-Browne, Minister for Housing, Lands and Urban Renewal, were due to appear but were absent from Friday’s session.

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