IN OTHER NEWS – Major tertiary learning institution foreign educators sleeping and living with young teen students BP is INVESTIGATING!
NASSAU| A man convicted of molesting a boy he once babysat was yesterday sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
Basil McDonald, 28, did not show any emotion as Justice Guillimina Archer-Minns delivered her sentencing decision.
He will serve a five-year sentence for indecent assault at the same time.
In handing down her judgment, Archer-Minns said, “The court owes it to the women and the children of The Bahamas to protect them from all forms of violence, let alone sexual violence. This particularly so, given that violence against women and children has exponentially increased, not only in The Bahamas, but the wider Caribbean.”
McDonald betrayed the trust of the victim’s mother and older brother, who had welcomed him and later his mother, into their New Providence home in 2019 during the COVID-19 pandemic.
McDonald repaid their kindness by preying on an impressionable seven-year-old boy, who regarded him as a brother and friend.
The abuse continued until the boy was nine-years-old, when the mother put McDonald out.
Sometime in 2020, the boy’s mother returned home unexpectedly and met McDonald hugging her son as they sat in bed.
She felt uneasy about the situation and when she questioned her son, he became withdrawn.
The young boy later attempted suicide and exhibited other behavioral issues.
He finally opened up about the abuse in 2023 after undergoing counselling.
The victim said the experience had caused him to have trust issues and led him to question his sexuality, as he was not sure if he enjoyed his encounters with McDonald.
Archer-Minns said she hoped to deter the convict from repeating similar offences upon his release, and to deter any other persons minded to act in a similar manner.
Jairam Mangra represented McDonald.
Shaneka Carey and Betty Wilson were the prosecutors.
Meanwhile, Bahamas Press has a major tertiary institution in the country – which has a number of foreign professors preying on young students. We understand a number of male students are being groomed by the foreign male professors with some having the students living with these male professors. BP is now investigating this information and will share more as information becomes available.
We report yinner decide!
