‘Trapped’: Ontario man cleared of charges in Dominican Republic still can’t come home
Global News
Despite all charges being dropped, an Ontario man remains stuck in the Dominican Republic, caught in a web of slow systems and limited Canadian intervention.
An Ontario man has been stranded in the Dominican Republic for over two months, despite the fact that all criminal charges against him have been dropped and a judge has confirmed his freedom.
However, administrative delays and a restriction on Canadian interference have left David Bennett unable to return home.
The ordeal began with a case of mistaken identity involving a yellow bag found with drugs at the Punta Cana airport. But that’s no longer the issue.
Bennett’s wife has been fighting hard to bring him home but has been facing many delays.
“All charges were dropped,” said Bennett’s wife, Jane Wilcox. “We learned on April 14th that all charges were going to be dropped… On Friday we learned that it’ll take another one to two weeks to remove travel restrictions.”
What’s keeping Bennett in the country now isn’t law enforcement, it’s paperwork.
According to Bennett’s lawyer, Gary Boucher, “The one-to-two-week period is by no means definite. It’s not certainly statutory or anything to the best of our knowledge.” He explained that the issue is not a formal travel ban, but a lag in clearing his name from national databases.
In other words, the holdup appears to be purely administrative, with Bennett’s freedom reliant upon how quickly local systems are updated to reflect that the charges have been dropped.
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