For­mer Chil­dren’s Au­thor­i­ty chair­man Hanif Ben­jamin was yes­ter­day grant­ed $170,000 bail on two sex­u­al­ly re­lat­ed of­fences against a 15-year-old boy.

Ben­jamin, 47, a clin­i­cal ther­a­pist and trau­ma spe­cial­ist, was warned by Mas­ter Deli­cia Bethele­my in the San Fer­nan­do Mas­ter’s Court to have no con­tact with the vic­tim.

The charges al­leged that Ben­jamin en­gaged in sex­u­al com­mu­ni­ca­tion with a child and in a sex­u­al ac­tiv­i­ty in the pres­ence of a child on Ju­ly 15 this year, via a What­sApp video call. He was in­ter­viewed by of­fi­cers of the Child Pro­tec­tion Unit on Tues­day and charged by Cpl Kassie on Wednes­day at the Cou­va Po­lice Sta­tion.

The State, rep­re­sent­ed by at­tor­neys Sgt Rea­gan Ra­manan, in­struct­ed by In­sp Ramdeo Sookdeo, ob­ject­ed to bail on the grounds that he may be a flight risk and might in­ter­fere with wit­ness­es.

How­ev­er, Mas­ter Bethele­my grant­ed him bail on the con­di­tion that he have no con­tact or com­mu­ni­ca­tion with the vic­tim or any of the wit­ness­es.

He al­so has to sur­ren­der his pass­port and re­port to the po­lice sta­tion. Ben­jamin was rep­re­sent­ed by at­tor­ney Ajesh Sumes­sar, in­struct­ed by An­dre Cole.

The mat­ter was ad­journed to Jan­u­ary 16, 2026.