Bush facing historic sexual abuse allegation

(CNS): The RCIPS has opened another investigation into the former speaker, McKeeva Bush, after receiving a report of a historic allegation of sexual assault by the veteran West Bay MP. The police confirmed that Bush had been informed that a criminal investigation had begun based on a complaint dating back over twenty years.

Meanwhile, the police continue to work on the more recent allegation of sexual harassment after a file sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) was returned to the RCIPS.

In response to a CNS inquiry, a police spokesperson stated, “The RCIPS has received a complaint concerning an allegation of sexual assault by Mr Bush dating back to 2000. He has been advised and a criminal investigation has commenced.”

No other details have been given about this latest accusation but the police noted that the investigation into the incident at the Ritz Carlton on 3 September was ongoing.

“The investigation file was submitted to the DPP, who has instructed some additional actions be completed by the RCIPS. This work is currently ongoing and once completed, the file will be returned to the DPP for ruling in early course,” the RCIPS spokesperson added.

Bush is facing accusations that he acted inappropriately against several women at an official cocktail party hosted by the tourism ministry during a regional conference. Although he has denied the allegations, the accusations eventually led to his resignation as speaker of parliament after Premier Wayne Panton wrote to Bush and asked him to step down.

However, Bush has not resigned from his West Bay West seat, and despite the continuing controversies that have plagued him throughout his political career, he retains a loyal base of supporters in his own constituency and across the district.

Bush’s time in politics has been dogged by controversy, with persistent allegations surrounding his drinking and gambling. Despite being acquitted of corruption charges in 2014 over the misuse of his government credit card, the trial revealed the extent to which he was gambling and the money he was spending in casinos when travelling on government business.

A number of other corruption scandals that swirled around Bush at that time never reached the courts. But in 2012, when he was premier, he faced three police investigations before he was ousted from the top job by his own UDP colleagues.

As well as the abuse of his government credit card Bush was accused of attempting to bend the law and persuade customs officials to release dynamite that was seized after importers had failed to follow the proper procedures. While the importer was prosecuted, Bush avoided any charges.

He also dodged what could have been a serious corruption bullet over the infamous ‘Stan Thomas fax’ that appeared to show that Bush had been paid money by the landowner in connection to a re-zoning application for valuable beachfront land in 2004, but no charges were brought in that case either.

Bush was arrested in 2017 outside the Coconut Creek casino in Florida after a member of staff accused him of sexually assaulting her. Bush protested his innocence and a few weeks later, the Seminole police confirmed they would not be bringing any charges.

But in 2020, Bush’s luck escaping the law ran out when he was accused of assault at a bar on Seven Mile Beach. He was eventually convicted and given a two-month suspended sentence. He admitted beating up the female bar manager at Coral Beach Bar while intoxicated and pleaded guilty. But a few months following his conviction and sentence, he walked back on those admissions on the 2021 election campaign trail.

Scraping a very narrow victory after a difficult campaign, Bush nevertheless managed to become the kingmaker in the post-election horsetrading that followed the general election results in April. In exchange for agreeing to support a coalition of independent candidates that became the PACT Government, Bush returned to the speaker’s chair before the September allegations led to his resignation.

So far, Bush has made no public comment in relation to the latest accusation and the new police probe.