Police slumber on convicted sex offender’s possible entry

By Uditha Jayasinghe

Local police are yet to initiate investigations into a convicted sex offender wanted in Australia on more than 250 counts of child abuse, who is reported to have fled New Zealand for Sri Lanka.

International media reported over the weekend that former Catholic brother Bernard McGrath, who is facing 252 child sex charges in Australia relating to his time in church-run institutions in the 1970s and 1980s, is suspected to have fled to Sri Lanka.

He is reported to have fled to Sri Lanka while waiting to be extradited from New Zealand earlier this year.

Australia’s Fairfax newspapers, quoting McGrath’s brother, reported that he had decided to travel to Sri Lanka after receiving a phone call from a friend who had encouraged him to move to the island famous for its sandy beaches.

McGrath was paroled in New Zealand in 2008 after serving jail time for child sex offences at a Christchurch school in the 1970s – his second stint in prison for such crimes. Even with such knowledge, it is unclear what steps will be taken by the police.

Police Spokesman Prishantha Jayakody told media that they are “unaware” of McGrath’s arrival and would not initiate any investigation unless a complaint is made by an offended party. When asked why the police are unable to take action against a convicted sex offender to protect local children, he defended police inaction by pointing out that Sri Lanka is a “democracy.”

“We do not know of any such individual. We cannot take any action unless the Australian authorities together with Interpol inform Sri Lankan police. So far we have not received any complaints about him,” he said, dismissing the matter.