By NAN Staff Writer
News Americas, PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, Thurs. July 1, 2021: A former Caribbean chief minister has been found guilty of six counts of sexual exploitation and one count of perverting the course of justice.
Former Chief Minister of Montserrat, David Brandt, was found guilty Wednesday by The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court. The charges date back to September 18, 2015, when Brandt was initially arrested and charged specifically with one count of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor dating back to 2010. He was slapped with a charge of conspiracy to have sex with a minor, due to developments that took place between April to September of 2015.
But in November 2018, Brandt was taken into custody by local police assisted by the members the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency (NCA), and several charges were laid against him including two counts of child sexual exploitation and one count of perverting the course of justice.
At the time, he had denied the allegations, insisting at the time: “I am not guilty of these charges. My day in court will show that is the case, and that I am innocent. These allegations that have been brought against me are totally false.”
Brandt had originally been charged with seven sexual exploitation charges, but the jury could not reach a decision on the first count. He remains in custody until July 14th – the date set for sentencing.
