The tearful mother of a six-year-old abused by an intruder in his own home is calling for a sex offenders' register to be introduced to protect children.

A convicted paedophile was last week cleared by a jury of abusing the youngster two years ago in a case that has attracted criticism both from the victim's family and even the defence counsel of the accused.

The mother has described the five-day trial into the assault on her son as a “travesty of justice” and even the Department of Public Prosecutions has admitted that the case was not as strong as it could have been.

She told The Royal Gazette that her family had been through an “absolute nightmare” since the early morning when a man broke into their Southampton home and touched the penis and buttocks of her son as he lay in his bed.

Her son, who also cannot be named, is now an eight-year-old who still has nightmares about the assault and still asks “mommy, am I safe now?”

The man accused of assaulting the boy has a string of previous convictions and was released from a four-year prison sentence for buggery of a minor in the late 1990s.

And now she is calling for the introduction of a register, which would include the name, address and photo of those convicted of abusing of children, and would be readily available to the public.

The house where the incident took place is owned by the grandfather of the recidivist sex offender, something she only discovered after the assault, and something she feels she had a right to know when she moved in and which a register could have provided.

“I think something needs to change,” she told The Royal Gazette. “There needs to be some kind of register introduced so that we can better protect children.

“There should be a list available to the public, to schools, to junior sports club and to any other agencies or groups that work with children.

“People need to know where these sort of people are. They say that a register would infringe the privacy and rights of the paedophiles. Should families live in fear and terror of these individuals just to protect their rights? “What about the rights of the children? Isn't that the most important thing?”

While waiting the two years for the recent trial to begin, the mother revealed she had asked for permission from her son's school to circulate photos of the accused to warn other parents because of his previous convictions - she was refused.

Although she is not willing to break the law, she believes photos of repeat offenders should be shown to parents if there is a convicted paedophile in a neighbourhood.

“Incest and paedophilia is Bermuda's dirty little secret,” continued the woman, who was abused herself by a neighbour as a six-year-old along with her sister.

“It is rampant and it is about time the problem was acknowledged. A register is one way of making sure that people know what is going on in their communities.”

She said that she understood that a fear of vigilante attacks would be one reason not to have an official public register, but said she didn't think it would make any difference.

“Bermuda is a small place and there is always a chance that will happen whether there is a register or not,” she said. “After what happened to our family, a lot of people asked us if we wanted them ‘to get him', and we said that wasn't for us to say.

“Vigilantism is not the way forward but if there is no justice, where does that leave us? We are all God's children and we don't want him dead. He will have to face his maker eventually.”

Although a register may not have prevented the attack on her son - it took place in a locked house at night - she does believe that if photos of convicted paedophiles were readily available, it would assist in identification when matters eventually do reach court.

“If these people knew that everyone knew who they were it might stop them attempting assaults,” she continued.

“If everyone knows who you are, and what you have done in the past, it would be more difficult for you to do it again.

“At the end of the day it is about the children's safety and well-being. How is a parent expected to go to work, to do a job, and concentrate on what they are doing if they are fearful about the sort of man who is being allowed to lurk around their children's school?”

But Acting Director of Public Prosecutions Kulendra Ratneser believes there is no need for the introduction of such a register due to the existence of recently-introduced legislation that performs a similar function.

He was keen to explain to The Royal Gazette that the Criminal Code Amendment Act No. 2, introduced on October 29, 2001, was already in existence and covered similar ground to any proposed register.

He said the Commissioner of Prisons was empowered to order an assessment of a sex offender by a qualified professional as to whether the offender was likely to pose a physical or mental risk to the public.

If so, a judge could place the offender under a supervision order for up to ten years under which the offender would have to inform the Police of his address and any subsequent change to this address or name.

As well as notifying Police of his whereabouts, if the offender was still thought to be a significant risk to any group or individual or even the public at large, there were further powers that could be enacted.

He said the Minister for Public Safety could order the disclosure of any details, including photographs, of an offender to appropriate individuals or groups in the interest of protecting the public.

“There is no need to introduce any kind of register when there are already satisfactory measures in place to monitor recidivist sex offenders and advise members of the public when necessary,” he told The Royal Gazette.

“I can see where her concerns stem from, from but I feel the current legislation meets these concerns. There is no need for a sex offenders register. Where would it take society?”

Coalition for the Protection of Children chairman Sheelagh Cooper is off the Island and nobody else from her organisation was prepared to comment on a possible introduction of a sex offenders' register.