Former Jamaican University Lecturer Held in Florida on Sexual Assault Charges

A former Jamaican university lecturer has been extradited to the United States to face charges for several sexual batteries in Margate, Florida which took place over 20 years ago.

Russell McLean, 65, was extradited earlier this month and was being held in the Broward County Jail on 16 charges including sexual assault, burglary and kidnapping.

McLean is a former lecturer at the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) in Mandeville, Jamaica.

According to the Margate authorities, McLean is responsible for several sexual crimes that happened in the city between June 1996 and November 1997. He allegedly broke into homes and threatened victims with a gun in order to assault them.

All the victims gave the same description of the suspect but no suspects were identified. In 2007, evidence recovered in a burglary case led to the identification of McLean as a person of interest.

When McLean realized he was being investigated for the crimes, he fled to Jamaica. In 2015, Margate Police Department detective Julio Fernandez reinvestigated the case involving the sexual batteries.

In 2018, Fernandez obtained deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) evidence and compared it to DNA located in rape kits from 1996 and the results concluded that McLean’s DNA was a match. In August 2020, an arrest warrant was issued for McLean.

With the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, McLean was located in Jamaica on May 24, 2022. On July 7, 2022, he was extradited to Broward County, Florida where he remains in jail without bond.

Up to the time of his arrest, McLean was still a faculty member at the university, which is said to be the world’s largest English-speaking Seventh-day Adventist tertiary institution.

Russell McLean was a lecturer in the College of Humanities, Behavioral and Social Sciences, according to NCU. He had worked at the school for more than 18 years.

In a statement, NCU said that prior to his employment, a thorough background check was done and nothing damaging was uncovered.

"At the time of Mr McLean’s employment, approximately 20 years ago, the normal background checks were done and nothing damaging, such as these allegations, were uncovered. The University Administration regrets this unfortunate development regarding a faculty member," the statement read.

NCU says it will now allow the law to take its course and will therefore refrain from commenting on the matter any further.

He was being held without bond at the Broward Main Jail.