The man who was extradited from Barbados to the United Kingdom (UK) last week failed in his bid to block the order just hours before he left Barbados.
Attorney General Wilfred Abrahams told the Weekend Nation that an application for habeas corpus was heard and dismissed by Justice Elwood Watts on July 30, the same day Jason McEdwin Forde left the jurisdiction.
Forde, a former mental health nurse, was wanted in the UK on sexual assault charges stemming from an incident which allegedly took place more than 20 years ago at a hospital where he worked and which involved a mental health patient. Reports indicated that he came to Barbados which resulted in years-long extradition proceedings by authorities in the UK to get him back there.
Asked about the process involved, Abrahams explained that then Magistrate Graveney Bannister signed a warrant of committal dated November 20, 2015. Then Attorney General Adriel Brathwaite also signed an order of surrender dated December 15, 2015. However, Forde, through his attorney Hal Gollop, KC, filed an application for judicial review which was heard and dismissed by Justice Cecil McCarthy on October 24, 2025. That was followed by a 21-day stay.
Abrahams said Forde subsequently filed an appeal which was never served on the State.
“On 30th July, 2026, the day he left the jurisdiction, an application for habeas corpus was heard by Justice Watts and dismissed. Forde was then turned over to UK authorities and left the country in their custody,” he added.
On his arrival in the UK, Forde, a mechanic, of Chancery Lane, Christ Church, was immediately taken to the Westminster Magistrates’ Court where he was slapped with eight charges:
• One count of sexual intercourse with a woman who was mentally disordered, under the Sexual Offences Act 1956;
• One count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a patient, under the Mental Health Act 1959;
• Two counts of sexual activity involving penetration with a mentally disordered person, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003;
• Two counts of a care worker engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a mentally disordered person, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003;
• One count of non-penetrative sexual activity with a mentally disordered person, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003; and
• One count of a care worker engaging in non-penetrative sexual activity with a mentally disordered person, under the Sexual Offences Act 2003. (MB)