By PAVEL BAILEY

Tribune Staff Reporter

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

SIDNEY Cooper, a man National Security Minister Wayne Munroe warned the public about in 2023 because of his history of sexual assaults, was denied bail and imprisoned after he allegedly committed a sexual crime against a 68-year-old woman in a convenience store last weekend.

Assistant Chief Magistrate Carolyn Vogt-Evans arraigned Sidney Cooper on indecent assault.

The defendant allegedly accosted an elderly woman and rubbed his erect privates against her buttocks twice at a convenience store on Crooked Island Street on January 25.

Cooper pleaded not guilty to the charge.

Assistant Superintendent of Police S Coakley, the prosecutor, strongly objected to Cooper’s bail. ASP Coakley cited the advanced age of the complainant and the defendant’s propensity for committing similar offences.

Cooper was last charged in December 2023 with exposing his genitals to a woman on Fifth Street and rubbing his body suggestively on a nearby pole while telling the complainant he wanted to do that to her. The outcome of that trial, which was expected to begin on February 19, 2024, is unclear.

 Cooper has been convicted of at least 20 sexual assaults over nearly 20 years. Mr Munroe hosted a press conference in August 2023 to warn the public about his release from prison under Registration of Sex Offenders regulations that allow authorities to notify the public about offenders leaving prison to heighten awareness of their presence in an area.

 In August 2023, police took Cooper into protective custody after he was wrongfully accused of trying to abduct a 12-year-old girl.

 Cooper was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services until his trial begins on February 3.