An American paedophile, who preyed on a vulnerable teenager at the Olympia swimming pool in Dundee, was able to travel the world unhindered and off the law enforcement radar, it emerged last night.
The US Department of Justice confirmed that it has no system for alerting other countries to border-crossing predators like Brian Hohman.
The alarming loophole was exposed by The Courier amid outcry over the monitoring of Hohman, a convicted child rapist registered as a sex offender in three US states.
The Dundee case prompted a sheriff at the city’s court to speculate that the 46-year-old was a potential “international travelling paedophile.”
Politicians have since demanded answers on why the American authorities failed to share information on Hohman with their British counterparts.
Asked about the case, department of justice senior policy advisor Lori McPherson said that measures to restrict the foreign travel of potential perverts were still in development.
“At present, there is no established notification system regarding registered sex offenders as they depart the United States,” she said.
“Section 128 of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act (as expanded on in its final guidelines) directed the Attorney General, in conjunction with the Department of Homeland Security and State Department, to develop a system for tracking registered sex offenders as they depart and enter the United States.
“The Office of Sex Offender Sentencing, Monitoring, Apprehending, Registering and Tracking (SMART) has taken the lead on this work and has organised an international working group to develop such a system, consisting of multiple component offices from the Department of Justice, State Department, Department of Homeland Security, and Department of Defense.
“The system that this working group is developing is not yet operational and has not been deployed.”
Ms McPherson said that overseas authorities were told of potential threats travelling to their shores “in certain circumstances,” but was unable to comment on whether Hohman was placed on a watch list.
It is understood, however, no such notification took place when the sex offender left the USA for an extended holiday in Europe and South Africa in November.
Hohman, who has a conviction for the rape and abuse of a child dating back to 1993, admitted at Dundee Sheriff Court last month that he made comments of a sexual nature to a 15-year-old boy at the Olympia centre, pointed out to him a pornographic image and attempted to make him commit an act of gross indecency.
His victim was a youth from a Fife children’s unit who had been taken on an outing.
It emerged during the case that Hohman was in possession of an American passport, which has since been surrendered to the court.
The Department of Justice admitted that there was no blanket policy on whether offenders under supervision in the United States were required to give up their travel documents.
“It will depend on the court and/or supervision agency as to whether a registered sex offender is required to surrender their passport. Unless further action is taken by the court and/or law enforcement, however, that offender would likely be able to apply for and receive another passport,” said Ms McPherson.