HOME	AUGUST 28st, 2004

AUGUST 28

A Grenadian who is convicted of a sex crime against a minor in the United States is wanted by the Department of Probation in New York City for a deportation hearing. Reports say that the agency is looking for 37-year old Kingsley Patterson who is believed to have resided at one time on the sister isle of Carriacou.

According to information obtained by GRENADA TODAY, the convicted man failed to show up at a probation center after a number of offenders were rounded up when they reported to their probation officers.

An article in the a New York newspaper stated that the local is being sought with two other sex offenders who were convicted of crimes against children. It said that many of the victims were young relatives and as such the convicts received probation instead of jail time. One of the victims is said to be six months old while the other is two years. According to media reports, sixty-four persons were rounded up during "Operation Predator", a nationwide Homeland Security initiative that targets green card holders and illegal aliens.

Sex crimes against minors are a felony in the United States , and immigrants both legal and illegal are subjected to deportation. The 64 people rounded up over the week-end included 63 men and one woman who come from more than a dozen countries on three continents. So far nearly 4000 people have been arrested in the U.S. under Operation Predator including 250 from the New York City area alone. More than 500 persons have been deported under the programme.