作者： admin

Amid growing public calls for greater transparency around convicted sex offenders in The Bahamas, the leader of the country’s leading anti-violence advocacy organization is pushing back against opening the national Sexual Offenders Register to general public access, warning that such a move in this small island nation would backfire, fuel violent vigilante action, undermine official monitoring efforts, and ultimately fail to deliver on its core goal of protecting children.

Sandra Dean-Patterson, director of the Crisis Centre – one of the earliest and most vocal supporters of creating the registry – made her position clear in new comments responding to a recent public incident that reignited debate over access rules. The debate flared after an Eyewitness News report featured a local mother who claimed a convicted paedophile was targeting her 10-year-old child. The mother said she had reported her concerns to police, only to be told that officers could not take action because she had not caught the suspect acting illegally.

Dean-Patterson emphasized that her organization has long advocated for the creation of a formal sexual offenders registry, driven by alarming rises in reported child sexual abuse and exploitation across The Bahamas. The Crisis Centre’s core priority, she said, has always been to gain clear insight into the scope of child victimization and build a structured framework to address the crisis. Established under the 2014 Sexual Offenders Amendment Act and officially brought into force in July 2019, the registry represented a long-sought policy win for the advocacy group. In 2022, the government advanced the system further by digitizing records, launching a dedicated access kiosk at the Wulff Road Police Station, and activating a fully staffed management unit within the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services, which has overseen the registry since July 2021. Under current rules, all offenders sentenced after the 2019 enforcement date are required to register their residential address within 72 hours of release, and notify authorities immediately of any changes of address or travel lasting more than seven days.

Despite the Crisis Centre’s full support for the registry itself, Dean-Patterson said the organization remains firmly opposed to opening the database to the general public. She stressed that The Bahamas’ small population and geographic size sets it apart from larger nations with public registries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, where public identification does not always produce the desired protective outcomes. Instead, access should be strictly limited to official agencies with a direct mandate for child protection and offender monitoring: the national police force, social services, and the correctional and prison system.

Drawing on case studies from larger jurisdictions, Dean-Patterson noted that public access has repeatedly led to unintended harmful consequences. In parts of the U.S. such as Miami, for example, strict residency restrictions barring registered sex offenders from living near schools, parks, and other public spaces have pushed offenders into unregulated, isolated areas that make consistent monitoring far harder for authorities. Dean-Patterson also highlighted that vigilante violence and retaliation against offenders are well-documented outcomes of public registries in other countries, outcomes that she said would disrupt rehabilitation and monitoring work in The Bahamas. National Security Minister Wayne Munroe echoed this risk in 2022, noting that courts in some jurisdictions have removed offenders from registries entirely when public retaliation has been documented, eroding the system’s overall effectiveness.

Under the current restricted model, Dean-Patterson explained, the burden of monitoring released offenders falls directly to trained, mandated officials, who are tasked with implementing appropriate public safety measures as soon as an offender is released from custody. She acknowledged, however, that this framework relies on one critical factor: public trust in the government agencies tasked with managing the system. Dean-Patterson admitted that public confidence in the ability of authorities to protect children from repeat offenders is not as strong as it needs to be, and that the debate over access rules will need to continue as the country works to address child sexual violence. She ended by reaffirming the Crisis Centre’s unwavering opposition to all forms of child violation, saying the organization will remain vocal and firm in its commitment to ending child abuse across the archipelago.

For nearly a month, the relatives of a missing Abaco native have turned to the local community and social media for answers, after the 60-something truck driver vanished without a trace following a routine workday. Jean Honoret, an experienced truck driver in his early 60s, was last spotted on June 9, when he checked in for his scheduled shift but never made it back to his residence, according to close family members.

Wilfred Toussaint, Honoret’s cousin who has shared an unusually close bond with him for years, described their daily routine of checking in with one another, multiple times a day in most cases. The pair spoke the day before Honoret disappeared, and Toussaint said nothing seemed off or alarming during their casual conversation, which unfolded just like any other. “We live like brothers,” Toussaint shared in an interview. “Every morning we check in, ask how the other is doing, what’s going on. We even crack a few jokes. By 5:30 every day, one of us always calls the other to make sure everything is okay.”

It was that broken routine that first raised Toussaint’s alarm: when he did not hear from Honoret at their usual time the next day, he knew something was wrong. Toussaint, who currently resides in New Providence, told reporters he has no clear idea what could have happened to his cousin. “I don’t know if he’s still alive, or if someone hurt him. I really don’t have any answers,” he said, but added that the entire family is still clinging to hope that Honoret will be found safe.

As the search drags on without official updates, local residents have taken to sharing posts across social media platforms, asking anyone with even small scraps of information about Honoret’s whereabouts to come forward. Toussaint also shared one key detail that has added to the family’s uncertainty: he later learned that a woman who claims Honoret owes her money showed up at his home looking for him shortly after he went missing.

Toussaint confirmed he is making plans to travel to Abaco in the coming days to join the search for answers personally. When contacted by The Tribune, Chief Superintendent Michael Thurston, the top-ranking police official overseeing Abaco, confirmed that as of the outlet’s latest inquiry, Honoret’s family had not yet filed an official missing person report with local law enforcement.

For 29-year-old Francent Yoth, life has never handed him an easy path. Born with a congenital limb difference that left him with only one functional arm, he has spent his entire adulthood carving out stability through relentless hard work, bouncing between entry-level roles since graduating high school. Today, he serves customers daily as a pump attendant at Roker’s Gas Station, located on Nassau’s Faith Avenue in The Bahamas.

Last week, a candid photo of Yoth going about his shift captured the hearts of social media users across the region, quickly going viral. Thousands of commenters flooded the original post to praise his quiet resilience, friendly customer service, and unwavering commitment to earning an honest living.

When a Tribune reporter visited the gas station earlier this week, Yoth moved efficiently between fuel pumps, greeting every customer with a warm smile. At first glance, he blends seamlessly into the rhythm of the busy refueling stop, just like any other member of the local workforce. It is only when he turns that the empty pinned sleeve on his right shoulder reveals the lifelong set of challenges he has learned to overcome.

Born in Haiti, Yoth relocated to The Bahamas with his family when he was 8 years old, entering a new school system already grappling with how to navigate being visibly different from societal norms. While most new students only worried about making friends, Yoth learned early how to respond to insensitive comments and bullying from peers.

A graduate of CC Sweeting Senior High School, Yoth described his school years as a mix of highs and lows. “Like every place, you meet people who are kind,” he shared, noting that other peers often chose to make unkind remarks about his disability. He credits his close friends and supportive teachers for stepping in to defend him from bullies during those formative years.

After graduating high school, Yoth held a string of entry-level jobs, including a role at a local auto parts retail shop. Over the years, he has faced repeated employment discrimination, with multiple employers turning him away based on his disability. Rather than growing bitter, Yoth chooses to focus on the employers who saw his determination instead of his difference. “I’ve had people that give me the job due to my determination and their compassion of seeing me trying to persevere,” he explained. “They were kind enough to give me a chance to do better for myself.”

Yoth landed his current role in December 2025, after a close friend sent him an email alerting him to the open position. Today, he counts daily interaction with customers as one of his favorite parts of the job, and says many regulars have gone out of their way to encourage him. He calls last week’s unexpected viral social media attention one of the biggest highlights of his career.

“It’s a positive thing to see yourself out there — not putting yourself out there, but someone saw me and they were compassionate and thoughtful to write something positive,” he said. “I didn’t know the person but thank God that they saw me doing my job, and they wrote it about me. The thing about social media, it can make or break you, and this time it turned into something good.”

For other disabled people struggling to secure stable employment, Yoth has a simple message: every job comes with hurdles, and the hard work will pay off eventually. He urged people facing similar barriers to stay encouraged, emphasizing that “there is light at the end of the tunnel.”

For Yoth, his disability has shaped his perspective rather than defined his potential. “There’s beauty in diversity, so in some ways, it helped me to persevere more because of my disability,” he said. “Some days I feel like, what if I had been born with two hands. But I can’t change it, that’s the way God intended for it to be done. So, I have to get through life.” He closed by expressing deep gratitude to the management of Roker’s Gas Station for trusting him with the role and giving him the opportunity to build a better life for himself.

A 39-year-old Bahamian man has been cleared of vehicular manslaughter charges connected to the 2024 death of Inspector Tomas McIntosh, a serving police officer whose posthumous organ donation saved multiple lives and sparked a national conversation on end-of-life giving in The Bahamas. The 7-to-1 not-guilty verdict delivered before Justice Renae McKay saw Raymond Rolle, the defendant, walk free from court yesterday, with visible relief marking his reaction to the verdict.

The tragic chain of events began on January 31, 2024, when 33-year-old Inspector McIntosh was conducting a routine traffic stop on the Sir Milo Butler Highway. Prosecutors had claimed that Rolle, who was operating a garbage truck at the time, struck the officer, leaving him with catastrophic, life-ending injuries. Following the collision, medical teams confirmed McIntosh was brain dead, and his family made the difficult, compassionate decision to honor his legacy by consenting to donate his usable organs.

In the moments before McIntosh was transported to the operating room for organ procurement, the community gathered for an emotional Hero’s Walk at Doctor’s Hospital, the facility where he received care. Grieving relatives, uniformed police colleagues, and hospital medical staff lined the facility’s hallway to pay their final respects: family members wept, serving officers saluted their fallen comrade, and the crowd joined in a rendition of “The Wind Beneath My Wings” as McIntosh’s processional moved through the building.

Speaking to McIntosh’s character in the wake of his death, Deputy Police Commissioner Leamond Deleveaux emphasized that organ donation aligned perfectly with the officer’s lifelong values. “He’s always been a caring person who always looked out for others,” Deleveaux noted. “He went beyond the call of duty of looking out for his colleagues and anyone he came into contact with so he would not have any issue” with the decision to donate.

Medical leaders across The Bahamas have framed McIntosh’s donation as a milestone for organ donation efforts in the country. Medical teams confirmed that the donation would save the lives of multiple patients waiting for transplants. Dr. Sheena Antonio-Collie, chief medical officer at Doctor’s Hospital, used the moment to encourage other families facing similar end-of-life circumstances to consider organ donation, noting that it not only transforms the lives of recipients but also reduces reliance on costly long-term treatments such as kidney dialysis. Dr. Rhea Thurston-Carroll, a specialist in kidney transplantation, added that McIntosh’s case has provided momentum for expanding national transplant programming, with a goal of building a robust registry that includes both living and deceased donors.

Rolle was represented in court by defense attorneys Tai Pinder and Lilnique Murphy-Grant, while the prosecution was led by Kalnan Kelly and Erica Duncombe.

A 32-year-old man from Abaco became the country’s 34th murder victim of the year and the first on the island in 2024 after gunmen carried out a fatal ambush near a controversial Dundas Town nightclub early yesterday, reigniting long-simmering community outrage over the venue’s ongoing operation in a residential neighborhood.

According to police accounts, the victim, Smithy Belfort, had just entered his parked Honda near Bootle’s Drive and was preparing to reverse out when he was struck by gunfire in the lower abdomen. Disoriented from the injury, Belfort lost control of his vehicle and crashed into a patch of dense bushes off nearby Forest Drive, where responding law enforcement officers later located him. A second 20-year-old man also sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder during the incident. Police report the man had just exited the Forum Bar and Lounge when he heard the gunfire, and only realized he had been hit moments after the attack.

The deadly shooting has sent shockwaves through the tight-knit Dundas Town community, amplifying months of pressure on local authorities to crack down on the nightclub that residents have opposed for years over its unsafe reputation, persistent noise pollution, and improper placement in a densely populated residential area. Local residents revealed that the venue was ordered closed back in May, but its unauthorized reopening earlier this month left the community frustrated and fearful. The location has already been the subject of multiple formal petitions and official objection letters from local government representatives.

Kadeem Martin, the owner of Forum Bar and Lounge, has pushed back against claims that the shooting is tied to his business. He argued that the ambush occurred far up the hill from the club’s premises, as captured by his venue’s security footage. “From what I understand, from the footage that I’ve seen, it was up the hill from the bar. We were already closing and somebody who left, one of the patrons, he was walking his vehicle up the hill, I think, when he got in his vehicle. He had persons waiting on him in the bush so they ambushed him but it had nothing to do with my bar,” Martin said, adding that the attack was not the result of a fight or public intoxication that originated at his establishment. Martin also claimed that only a small number of local residents have raised complaints, framing the pushback as targeted harassment of an out-of-town business owner. “I’m not from Abaco so I have a lot of trouble from these people. They’re saying that I’m coming here to cause a problem, and I’m not. It’s only two residents and they’ve been causing the issues,” he said.

But local leaders and residents paint a far different picture of the years of unaddressed issues plaguing the neighborhood since the nightclub opened. Faron Newbold, chief councillor for Central Abaco’s District Council, said residents are living in a constant state of fear and disappointment, claiming that local law enforcement has repeatedly ignored their calls for assistance over the venue’s violations. “Residents are fearful and disappointed because they feel there is no sort of protection,” Newbold said, noting that the council opposed the licence application from the start and appealed to the Attorney General’s Office before approval was granted. “It’s smack down in the middle of residences. There are residents in the back, front and side. It don’t even meet the liquor license requirement. All of this was inspected by Ministry of Works, the police and environmental health and gave it a clearance knowing the location. It was disappointing,” he added, calling on the national police commissioner to launch a full investigation into the licensing and response failures that led to yesterday’s killing.

Melissa Hardy, a long-time resident who lives directly across the street from the nightclub, said she contacted police repeatedly in the hours before the shooting, and officers refused to dispatch officers to address ongoing disturbances at the venue. “I called the police minutes before the gunshots. I called the police five times last night and they refused to come. The sixth time I called the police around 1.28, when I told them if they had come when they was supposed to come, they wouldn’t have to pick up nobody’s dead body,” she said. Hardy added that the community has endured constant late-night noise, loud explicit music, and unruly behavior from club patrons that makes it nearly impossible for local families to sleep through the night. On the night of the shooting, she counted roughly 16 gunshots in quick succession, and has been unable to sleep since the attack. Multiple neighbours confirmed the chaos, saying they scrambled for cover as the gunfire rang out, with one resident even falling while attempting to flee to safety.

Belfort’s death has already left his family shattered, according to a close family source. The victim’s siblings, who all reside overseas, have been left devastated by the sudden, violent loss of their brother.