The family of a 15-year-old girl who was continually contacted by a 47-year-old man expressed dismay yesterday about the lack of legal protection for children in Bermuda.

Anthony Steede, of Bat N Ball Lane, Sandys, a former Regiment soldier, was issued a court order on October 12 last year barring him from communicating with the teen, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Yesterday he pleaded guilty to breaching the order four times by contacting her between November 27 and December 12 last year and was sentenced to four months imprisonment for each occasion to run concurrent with his six-month sentence already being served for another breach.

Junior Crown counsel Maria Sofianos told Magistrates’ Court the maximum sentence for breaching the order was a $3,000 fine and six months imprisonment. After his sentencing, a family member, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of the child, said: “I feel they need to review the law. Six months imprisonment and $3,000 fine is not enough. Our children are not really protected.”

Last year, the teenager’s guardian complained to Child and Family Services about the relationship between Steede and the girl and obtained a Protection Intervention Order under the 1988 Children’s Act.

The Act states that a Protection Intervention Order can be made as long as the court is satisfied that the person’s contact with a child causes, or is likely to cause, the child to suffer significant harm.

However, Steede continued to communicate with the young girl through text messages, phone calls and in person.

On February 14, Steede pleaded guilty to breaching the order by sending 74 text messages to the teenager between 5.35 a.m. and 11.43 p.m. on the date of October 27, 2006.

Because it was his first breach of the protection order, Senior Magistrate Archibald Warner fined him $2,000 and gave him two years probation.

On Monday, however, Steede was in court for breaching the order for a second time, when he called the girl 1,292 times in a 20-day period between February 23 and March 14 this year.

Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo sentenced him to six months imprisonment followed by two years probation. He also barred Steede from contacting the young girl and said he must participate in any programmes from court services.

And yesterday, in his third court appearance, Steede pleaded guilty to communicating with the teenaged girl again.

Ms Sofianos told court at 4.15 p.m. on November 27, a witness saw Steede parked in a white delivery van behind Masters with the teenager and called the Police.

On December 12 at 4.47 p.m. an off-duty Police woman was leaving her residence when she saw the teenager in her school uniform waiting on the side of the road.

She then saw Steede driving in the direction of the teenager, so the off-duty Police woman turned her car around and spoke with the girl who said Steede had tried to talk to her, but drove off. On December 13, Police arrested Steede at his home for breaching the court order.

“This is the second time I have apologised to the court,” Steede said yesterday in court. “I was wrong and I’m prepared to face the consequences for my actions.”

He was sentenced to four months on all four counts and two years probation to run concurrently.