A top police officer has warned that parents worried about sexual abuse should be wary of those who are close to their children rather than strangers.

Acting Detective Chief Inspector Mark Clarke, one of those investigating cases of sexual abuse on the island, said: “It is not so much the stranger you should be worried about but the person you know”.

He was speaking in light of the revelation that footballers Andrew and David Bascome were sexually molested as children by adults associated with the sport.

Former football player Myron Brangman later spoke out on radio about his own experience of being abused as a child, saying it was not uncommon in Bermuda’s football fraternity.

Mr Clarke, who is a facilitator for child abuse awareness charity Scars, warned that, as is the case with football, most child sex abuse is perpetrated by those who already know the child so it is not just strangers parents and guardians should be wary of.

“I have said 93 per cent of all sexual abuse is committed by someone you know,” he said.

“Could it be the family, friends, churches, the school, sporting bodies, teachers? Yes. Football is not unique.

“It could be anyone with unstructured access to a child. Know where your child is — that is the easiest thing and make sure your child is not afraid to speak to you.”

As a Joint Select Committee report is put in motion to recommend measures to better safeguard children against sex offenders, the police officer stressed the need for penalties for failures to carry out police checks on those working with children and better provision for child victims to give evidence via video link.

According to lawyer and MP Mark Pettingill, chairman of the bipartisan six-person JSC, the report will recommend the formation of a central “hub” for all the agencies dealing with complaints of abuse; that certain sex offenders be placed on a publicly available list; and better use of legislation to manage sex offenders.

Mr Clarke made some recommendations of his own when he spoke to The Royal Gazette about some of the items on his “Christmas wish list”.

Speaking on the need for better use by the courts on the provision of video link, he said: “The technology is there and, of course, it can be beneficial. I would support any legislation that further protects the child from revisiting the events or looking at the suspect.

“We could review legislation that makes it mandatory up to a certain age.

“We have the legislation and we need to work out the kinks. It is now time to thoroughly explore how we are going to deal with that and yes, I believe it would result in better evidence.”

Mr Clarke said he would also support any legislation that made it mandatory for anyone working with children to be subject to police checks.

He said: “We want to make sure that we have done our best. Child safeguarding and the protection of our vulnerable should be a hallmark of our society.

“If an employer doesn’t do a police check they could be committing an offence themselves. It should be a deterrent for anyone who tries to circumvent that responsibility — it is that important.”

Mr Clarke described the creation of a publicly available sex offenders’ register as “problematic” but believed that those responsible for hiring people who work with children should be allowed to know whether a candidate is included in such a registry.

“In a very small jurisdiction it can do a lot of harm in the wrong hands for the wrong reasons. If you own a nursery and you want to hire somebody and want to make sure they are not a person on a registry, I think that we should have a way in which they can be told ‘yes’ or ‘no’.”

Social media plays a much greater role in how child sex offenders make contact with children and as such parents must be “extra vigilant” in their child’s internet use, Mr Clarke stressed.

“Monitor their internet use. Social media has become a favourite means to interact with children. Social media is a gateway — you don’t know who you are speaking to on the other side. Bermuda has one of the highest internet users in the world. You see the type of mobile devices they have.

“There are a host of tools to prevent them accessing certain websites, including www.cybertips.bm which is specific to Bermuda.

“When making my recommendations to the parliamentary committee I was very passionate about management of high-risk sex offenders once they are released back into the community. I was very adamant that as far as online I think that we can improve the area of an offence called Revenge Porn legislation. It helps us out because we are putting high technology in the hands of children.”

While he said he supported a central hub for all relevant agencies to deal with sex abuse complaints, similar to an approach in Iceland where all agencies function under one roof, he said Bermuda worked under a highly effective system where agencies work in tandem.

“I support a central hub but we already have a multi-agency, interdisciplinary approach. When we interview in relation to a report that is made, there is always Child and Family Services in that interview and there is never a variance from that. We would not speak to them without them present. You have to be fair to the investigation. We are pretty good.

“Our response includes the Bermuda Police Service, the Department of Public Prosecutions, the Centre Against Abuse, Women’s Resource Centre, Department of Children and Family Services, in a nutshell, not including the Sex Assault Response team and child protection team out of the hospital.”

Mr Clarke said that it would take a joint effort including partners overseas to tackle the problem of child sex abuse in Bermuda.

“It is not as straightforward. Bermuda will not be able to tackle the issue by itself. Bermuda will need its international partners IWF, Interpol, National Crime Agency, Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre in the UK, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security. No one can tackle it by themselves. But I want to make this message very clear, we are unafraid to investigate so don’t be afraid to contact us.”

•For further information or to report any matter please contact acting detective chief inspector Mark Clarke of the Serious Crime Unit on 717-0282, e-mail mclarke@bps.bm, or contact the independent and confidential Crime Stoppers hotline 800-8477.

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