Bermudan child sex offender ordered to stay at Northampton mental health hospital

Merrick Seaman was sentenced to eight years in jail in 2011 for a serious sexual assault on a five-year-old girl in 2010.

But a High Court ruling in Bermuda last week, widely reported in the national media, found that Merrick should be sent to St Andrews Healthcare in Northampton for expert care.

The court heard how his current incarceration at Westgate Correctional Facility in the British overseas territory was not addressing the possible harm he posed to the public.

Bermuda Supreme Court Judge Shade Subair said in a written judgement: “The wider purpose is to protect the community from further harm, which Seaman would likely cause if not further detained and treated.”

Though he was eligible for parole in April 2013, it was recommended that his release should be delayed until the risk of him committing further offences was reduced.

During a psychiatric review in 2014, he said: "I intend to go on a killing spree when I get out of jail."

St Andrews Healthcare, though it cannot comment on individuals, says it is well-equipped to deal with patients who have been transferred from prison.

A spokesman said: “We have a duty of care to protect our patients’ confidentiality which we take very seriously. For this reason we never comment on specific patient cases.

"St Andrew’s Healthcare looks after some exceptionally vulnerable patients with mental health issues. We are a specialist provider of mental health services, and support some of the most complex and difficult to treat patients.

"We care for people at the appropriate level of security for their condition and within the scope of their treatment, including those who have been transferred from prison in order to receive rehabilitation.”