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Sex offender to not wear monitoring device

Junius Caines (File photograph)

A sex offender will be released without an electronic monitoring device on Monday after he argued it would cause him pain.

Junius Caines, 50, was jailed for serious sexual assault after his attempt to rape a woman was foiled by passers-by in August 2016.

Kathy Lynn Simmons, the Minister of Legal Affairs, announced on Tuesday that his release from the Westgate Correctional Facility was imminent, and warned Caines was a sex offender who was “considered to present a risk of significant harm”.

He will be under a five-year supervision order with several conditions, including that he must wear the electronic monitoring device. But the condition for him to wear the device was put on hold yesterday after he argued in Supreme Court that he had “bad pains” that could be affected by wearing the device and that it produced radiation.

A court hearing will be held on the unresolved issue on July 17.

Puisne Judge Charles-Etta Simmons said: “If no such evidence can be found, then you are going to be ordered to wear the device.”

Laurie Shiell-Smith, the executive director for the Centre Against Abuse, described the release of Caines without the device as “unexpected and unbelievable”.

She said: “How can you determine his whereabouts for sure if he does not have a device on? Three and a half weeks of, ‘Where is Mr Caines?’.

“He should have been kept in jail until a decision is made. We have someone who we have been told by the Government to be on the alert for, and then he is released without a device.”

Reflecting on Caines’s concern that the device would cause him pain, she said: “People are living in pain from your behaviour. People will be subjected to physical and mental pain for the rest of their lives.”

The supervision order means Caines will be under a curfew from 8pm to 7am and will be subjected to random urine tests.

Caines, who has had psychiatric problems, will also be required to comply with recommendations for substance abuse and mental health treatments as required.

He will be required to attend the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute from Mondays to Fridays to receive his medication.

He was also told to attend any other programmes deemed necessary by the Department of Court Services.

The order initially required that he be reviewed in two months to assess his progress.

However, his next appearance was brought forward to July 17 after the prosecution suggested he be brought back sooner to deal with the electronic monitoring device. Caines also complained in court about the Ministry of Legal Affairs warning of his release.

He said: “They put me in the newspaper and people are threatening me.”

Mrs Justice Simmons replied that it was expected that the police would act on his behalf.

The Ministry of Legal Affairs raised concerns last night about the release of a sex offender “without appropriate electronic monitoring”.

A spokeswoman said: “The ministry’s guidelines for the release of serious sex offenders have been followed and responsibilities have been properly discharged.

“The ministry cannot intervene with or circumvent a court decision.

“Our concern in this instance is for the safety of members of the public, if the convicted sex offender chooses to reoffend.”

It is The Royal Gazette’s policy not to allow comments on stories regarding court cases. As we are legally liable for any slanderous or defamatory comments made on our website, this move is for our protection as well as that of our readers.