Hiding in Plain Sight: How a Convicted Sex Offender Slipped Under the Radar and Gained Prominence in the USVI
Bridges Randle, known in the Virgin Islands by the name Oluwafemi Abiola Banjoko, is described by U.S. Attorney for the Virgin Islands Delia Smith as a serial sex offender with a propensity for fleeing from justice.
2022-06-16 14:04:20 - VI News Staff
A motion filed on Tuesday requesting Randle be denied bail while he awaits trial argues that he poses a serious flight risk, outlining a narrative of subterfuge and deceit intertwined with predatory behavior towards women and girls.
Apart from summarizing the sexual assault in Memphis twenty-odd years ago that is at the heart of this new federal case against him, prosecutors note that Randle is alleged to have assaulted another victim a year later. In that case, according to court documents, Randle used his position as a police officer to sexually assault a woman who called police. In this incident, the woman called police to report her husband for domestic violence, however when Randle arrived on the scene and under the guise of taking the woman somewhere safe, he took her to an apartment complex clubhouse used by the Memphis Police Department, according to court documents.
There, Randle placed his firearm on a table near the woman and began touching her despite her repeated efforts to make him stop, court documents say. Randle then forced the woman's legs open and sexually assaulted her as she struggled against him. He would later plead guilty for the crime, court documents show.
While awaiting sentencing for his guilty plea in that matter to “official oppression”, a name change occurred — Bridges Randle became Ajamu Abiola Banjoko. Before the court for sentencing in 2002, Randle/Banjoko said that the change was not intended to obscure his sex offender past, but rather had to do with philosophy. The court did note at the time that his new name would make it more difficult to learn about his history of sexual misconduct.
The court’s prediction seems to have been borne out, as Banjoko went on, according to the motion for detention, to seek out and gain employment at several universities, in their Upward Bound programs. These programs are for high school students, aimed at supporting them academically as they graduate and hopefully transition to college enrollment. Banjoko, the U.S. Attorney says, was fired in 2012 from Georgia State University’s Upward Bound program, for several incidents of sexual harassment of minor girls. He is alleged to have inappropriately touched one high school student, smelled the hair of another, commented to other students on their attire, and told others “if you were a little older.” Other minor children reported that he showed off photos of his bedroom, saying “that’s where the magic happens.”