Glenroy Sinclair, Staff Reporter

( L - R ) Reese, Notice

A former prison doctor has called for inmates convicted of sex crimes to undergo intensive therapy before they are released back into society.

"Anybody who rapes has a psychological problem. It is a serious illness," argued Dr Raymoth Notice, who served in the penal system for several years.

Notice recalled an instance in which he had to seek professional help for a paedophile.

"About five years ago, this man came to me and explained that each time he sees a young, female child, he has this urge for sex. He said sometimes he would put them in his lap. I had to get professional help for him," said Notice.

A former mayor of Spanish Town, St Catherine, Notice explained further that inmates convicted of sex crimes, upon their release, usually become aggressive and are likely to attack more women.

Nothing in place

Contacted yesterday, head of the Department of Correctional Services, Major Richard Reese, confirmed that there were no official rehabilitation programmes for sex offenders in the prison system.

"No, we don't have a sex-offender treatment programme. But we are currently in discussion with a representative of the British government to establish one," Reese told The Gleaner yesterday.

He stressed, however, that there was a sex-offender database, covering the last 12 years, which is accessible by the police. The police are also informed when sex offenders return to their communities, the prison chief told The Gleaner.

Meanwhile, one social activist explains the power dynamics which drive some criminals to sexually assault girls and women.

"I don't know what has caused it (the rise in sex crimes). Rape is not so much about gender as it is about power. You rape somebody because you have power over them," said Professor Barry Chevannes.

Chevannes, a university lecturer, further explained the psychological damage rape causes.

"It's like slavery, the way slavery was a rape of one's body through constraining the person. In a way, rape goes even deeper because sex is a psychological act as well. It's awful!"

Fred Pragnell contributed to this story.