A woman facing 10 immigration-related charges has been remanded to custody while Cayman officials seek the help of the International Criminal Police Organisation.
The woman is before the Summary Court as Joan Siddon Willis, 45, of Jamaica. She has been in Cayman since 2004 as Joan Adean Richards.
On Wednesday, Crown Counsel George Keightley said officers of the Immigration Department were seeking to obtain an accurate history of the defendant. What was making that difficult was the large number of aliases – as many as 10 – allegedly used by the defendant.
Immigration officials are going to have to go through Interpol in order to get an accurate antecedent history, he told Magistrate Nova Hall.
Willis faces five charges of making a false statement. Three relate to temporary work permit applications in which she said her name was Joan Richards. The same false statement is alleged to have been made on two regular work permit applications.
The other five charges allege use of an irregular passport – one that gives a false identification to Willis, in the name of Richards. All offences took place between July 2004 and December 2005.
Willis first came to court on 4 October, appearing before Magistrate Margaret Ramsay-Hale.
She was not represented at the time and told the court she had been deported from Canada back to Jamaica. She said it was because she had a criminal record in Canada for importing cocaine. She had been a scapegoat and really didn’t know the cocaine was there, she explained.
Back in Jamaica she had a hard time getting a job because of the conviction. She became friends with a man who helped her get a passport. After they came to Cayman, he started beating her until she couldn’t take it any more. She went to Immigration because her face was smashed, she was threatened and she couldn’t take it any more.
The magistrate asked a senior Immigration officer about this. She was told that the man was arrested but was later given permission to travel outside the jurisdiction. The officer explained that the man had denied the allegation and this background was not known at the time.
Willis told the court she did not understand at the time what a serious offence it was to have obtained an irregular passport.
Crown Counsel Elisabeth Lees described the pattern of offending as a repeated and determined effort to deceive authorities.
Willis had been on bail, but the magistrate remanded her in custody for one week for the charges to be checked again by the Legal Department.
This week, Defence Attorney Scott Wilson told the court he had been approached and asked to assist Willis. He said some pleas were likely to be entered in due course and she had expressed a wish to return to Jamaica as soon as possible.
He asked that she be re-admitted to bail, saying it was clear that Immigration authorities had been content that Willis was not at risk of further offending or absconding. Neither had the Crown asked for her remand last week.
The defendant had been leading a fairly exemplary life in Cayman, he said. She was employed by a reputable company in a responsible position. There was no indication of involvement in any criminal activity whatsoever, but for the fact she was using false identification of the irregular passport.
Although Willis could not support herself now, there were people who were willing to provide her food and shelter, Mr. Wilson concluded
Mr. Keightley said there were other matters in Canada indicated but not substantiated. They were being checked and the Crown was now concerned that Willis would abscond.
In denying bail, Magistrate Hall referred to the likelihood of some guilty pleas and the risk of flight. She set the matter for mention again on 25 October.
What is Interpol?
According to its official website, Interpol is the world’s largest international police organization, with 186 member countries. It facilitates cross-border police co-operation, and supports and assists all organizations, authorities and services whose mission is to prevent or combat international crime.
Created in 1923, it was first based in Austria. When the Nazis took control in 1938, it effectively ceased to exist because most countries stopped participating.
After World War II, Interpol was rebuilt with headquarters in France. In 1971 the United Nations recognised Interpol as an intergovernmental organization.
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