Immigration Officer slapped with 14 counts of breach of trust
Mr. Henley, 50, was previously charged with two counts of breach of trust for allegedly stamping the passports of 13 Brazilian nationals in February. His alleged accomplice, Clarence Fahie, is charged with one count of breach of trust.
The 14 charges against Mr. Henley represent the alleged 13 passports he stamped in February 2011 and a similar offence committed in January 2011. The charges were read to Mr. Henley by Magistrate Tamia Richards, however, he was not required to plead.
Both defendants were previously offered bail in the sum of $70,000 with two signed sureties each, ordered to surrender travel documents and report to the police station in their respective communities on Mondays and Fridays between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.
The court records state that on January 14, 2011 it is believed that an unknown number of nationals entered the VI in an unknown vessel, and six days later – January 20, the US authorities received information that a boat was leaving Cane Garden Bay en-route to the USVI. The vessel was intercepted by US officials the following day and subsequently four persons were nabbed.
When questioned, the individuals revealed that their passports were stamped in the Virgin Islands by an Immigration Officer. Officers were able to determine the signature to be that of Henley, the court heard.Investigations also indicated that the four individuals were not properly cleared in the VI. The following month, on February 10 it is alleged that Henley met the vessel MV Paint In Black at Village Cay marina where he cleared 13 Brazilians. The court heard he contacted Fahie to assist him.
It is alleged after he cleared the Brazilians he used his personal taxi to transport them to a guest house in Cane Garden Bay. However, on February 11, through an anonymous tip, Customs and Immigration officers swooped in on the guest house and took the 13 individuals into custody.
They were subsequently interviewed and repatriated to their homeland. According to the prosecution, Village Cay is an unauthorized port of entry and if an officer had to clear a vessel, permission had to be granted from the Chief Immigration Officer or Commissioner of Customs. But from all indications, there is no documentation from either Customs or Immigration for the vessel to be cleared.
It was also disclosed that MV Paint In Black came from St. Marteen and that according to the Brazilians they each paid $1,000 to get a BVI stamp.
Meanwhile, the Preliminary Inquiry into the matters before Mr. Henley is scheduled to begin on January 27, 2012.
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