By: Staff Writer
Monrovia – The Stipendiary Magistrate of the Monrovia City Court Ben Barco has denied a motion filed on behalf of Othello Bruce; a Liberian American is facing multiple charges of child sexual abuse.
On Tuesday, April 15, 2025, Magistrate Barco denied an insurance bond filed by Bruce’s legal counsel following his one night of detention at the Monrovia Central Prison Facility.
Bruce, 60, is accused of fleeing the United States in 2012 to avoid prosecution after being indicted by a grand jury in Worcester County, Massachusetts.
Defendant Bruce was arrested on Monday and remanded at the Monrovia Central Prison pending his extradition proceeding at the Monrovia City Court.
According to the criminal procedure law of Liberia, an application to admit to bail can be denied if the alleged crimes have a life imprisonment penalty.
Bruce is being charged with 12 serious criminal offenses, including four counts of Aggravated Statutory Rape of a Child involving natural sexual intercourse, four counts involving unnatural sexual intercourse, and four counts of Indecent Assault and Battery on a person aged 14 or older.
He allegedly committed the crimes against his biological daughter between December 2010 and March 2012, while residing in the United States of America.
The extradition request was submitted under the 1937 U.S.-Liberia Extradition Treaty, which remains in force and allows for the return of individuals charged with serious crimes.
