A convicted Zimbabwean paedophile has been allowed to remain in Britain after an immigration tribunal judge ruled he would face “hostility” if deported to his home country.
The man, known only as RC, won his case after Judge Sarah Pinder accepted that deportation would breach his rights under Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ruling blocks a Home Office deportation order, with the judge accepting lawyers’ claims that as an openly gay man jailed for child sex offences, he would likely face “substantial hostility” from Zimbabwean authorities.
RC came to Britain in October 2007 at age 16 with his mother, a British citizen, and was granted indefinite leave to remain in the UK. In 2018, he was convicted and jailed for five years and three months for sexual offences against children and distributing and possessing indecent images of children.
The Royal Courts of Justice (file pic)
GETTY
The Home Office ordered his deportation in June 2021, but he fought this under Article 3 of the ECHR, arguing he would face inhumane treatment in Zimbabwe as “a gay white man” who would live openly, and as a convicted sex offender.
RC’s lawyers argued his risk of persecution would be increased due to his reduced social skills from multiple health conditions, including autism, ADHD, PTSD, depression and deafness.
Judge Pinder found his “disability, being (perceived) gay, white and with a criminal record for child sex offences” would create substantial hostility from authorities. She ruled his disabilities would limit his capacity to “diffuse rather than exacerbate the hostility” he would face.
The judge also determined Zimbabwean authorities would likely discover his criminal convictions, noting RC “would likely disclose his convictions” due to not understanding their gravity.
The Home Office
PA