Senior Reporter
jensen.lavende@guardian.co.tt
A prominent T&T trade union leader has been charged with two sexual offences in the United States.
The union leader faces charges of forcible touching—intimate parts—and second-degree harassment through physical contact, according to the Deputy Commissioner of Public Information Department of the New York Police.
The man is alleged to have entered the bathroom of a 59-year-old woman while she was topless, grabbing her left breast and her vaginal area without consent and exposing his penis to her.
The woman is known to the union leader.
The incident allegedly occurred at the woman’s New York City apartment on August 9. He was charged two days later.
Forcible touching is a class A misdemeanour offence that carries a prison sentence of up to one year or up to six years probation for a first-time offender, as it is considered both a misdemeanour and a sex crime. Second-degree harassment carries a 15-day jail term.
When contacted and asked if he was charged with criminal offences in the US, the union leader told Guardian Media that he was “in line to return to Trinidad” and “I would address that when I get back.”
