Bench warrant for suspended principal on child porn charge

A bench warrant was issued yesterday for Bradley Robinson, 50, suspended principal of John Mills All-Age School in St Andrew, who has been before the court facing a child pornography charge for the past nine years.

When Robinson appeared in the Home Circuit Court on Tuesday, Justice Sonia Bertram Linton asked him to produce a book assigned to him to show he had been reporting to the police station as a condition of his bail. He is to report twice weekly to a police station in St Catherine where a notation would be made in the book on each visit.

However, Robinson told the court he had forgotten to bring the book, after which the judge said he would not be allowed to leave without producing it. He was taken to the holding area downstairs at the courthouse while he made attempts to have the book located.

Robinson was taken back to the courtroom about two hours later and, following submissions from his attorney Hugh Wildman, the judge told him to return on Wednesday with the book. The judge said Wildman did not have to come back to court with the accused.

Yesterday, Robinson did not turn up and the bench warrant was issued by the judge.

Wildman, who was appearing for Robinson for the first time on Tuesday, had argued that the case should be thrown out as a result of its dragging on for too long at nine years. The attorney disclosed that there was a statement on the case file indicating that the complainant, who was 16 at the time of the alleged offence, was no longer interested in the matter.

Bertram Linton set October 11 for the prosecution to decide whether the case should proceed.

Wildman also pointed out that, according to the records, the accused never missed a court date and the complainant had never shown up in court and the investigating police officer had never been in court when the case was called up.

The judge then asked the accused if he had been honouring his bail condition by reporting to the police. The accused said he had never missed a date and, questioned by the judge if he had his ‘little book’ to show that he was reporting, he responded that he forgot it.

On hearing the accused’s response, the judge ordered that he should not leave until he could produce the book.

Wildman then pointed out to the judge that there was no legal basis for the accused to be remanded because there was no complaint from the police that he was not reporting. He argued further that it was not a condition of the accused’s bail that he must walk with his book.

The accused was taken to the holding area where he made calls in an effort to get the book.

Several policemen, lawyers and civilians expressed concern when they heard of Robinson’s plight.

“Is this really justice?” a relative of the accused queried.

Wildman went back to court in the afternoon and explained the situation, assuring the judge that Robinson said the book would be available the next day.

The attorney had said on Tuesday that he would file a claim for false imprisonment on behalf of his client because he should not have been remanded because he did not have the book.

Robinson is on suspension from his job because of the September 2015 charge against him.

It is alleged that he knowingly caused a child to be involved in the production of child pornography.

He has denied the allegations.

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