Charles McArther Emmanuel

Born on February 12, 1978, in Boston, Emmanuel lived much of his life in Orlando, Florida, with his mother, Bernice Emmanuel, a college girlfriend of Taylor. Fearful of Taylor's attempting to claim custody of Emmanuel, his mother had his name legally changed to Roy Belfast Jr., the name of her husband. His house, in a neighborhood described as "middle class", was 9 miles (14 km) away from Universal Orlando Resort.[2][5]

He attended Maynard Evans High School. In 1994, when he was a teenager he was involved in an altercation with deputies of Orange County, Florida. Afterward, Emmanuel moved to Liberia to live with his father, who in turn enrolled him in the Accra Academy, an elite boarding school in Ghana. Emmanuel was expelled, and according to Johnny Dwyer of The Guardian, possession of alcohol and illegal drugs was reportedly the reason.[3]

He later attended the College of West Africa in Monrovia, and the principal of that school also expelled him.[3] He had exposure to the First Liberian Civil War, spending time with Bill Horace whose military unit was known for crucifixions and executions.[6]

Initially, Emmanuel pursued a career in the timber trade. He then established and commanded the Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU) to serve as his father's personal security force.[3] According to US prosecutors, when in Liberia, Emmanuel headed the "Demon Forces", a paramilitary, anti-terrorism security unit for Charles Taylor.[2][5]

Between 1999 and 2002, Emmanuel murdered at least four men, three of whom he personally shot, and another whom he ordered killed, and committed gruesome acts of torture in Liberia. The acts of torture he committed or was complicit in includes beating, burning, jabbing, electrocution and mutilation, especially of the genitals, shoveling stinging ants into people's bodies, forcing people to rape each other as he watched and laughed, forcing them to eat cigarette butts, and forcing them to drink urine.[7]

In 2006, Emmanuel was placed under arrest at Miami International Airport after flying from Trinidad to Miami. He carried a passport that he received after falsifying his father's name on the application. The Domestic Security Section of the United States Department of Justice accused Emmanuel of passport fraud. That December, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 11 months in prison.[8] Around the same time, he was then charged for participating in torture in Liberia. Emmanuel's trial was the first case where a US citizen was prosecuted under a 1994 law that prohibits American citizens from participating in torture outside of the United States.[2] Emmanuel was incarcerated at FDC Miami.[5] Emmanuel rejected an offer to plead guilty in exchange for leniency.[9]

Elise Keppler, a counsel for the International Justice Program of Human Rights Watch, said that the "Demon Forces" "did things like beating people to death, burying them alive, rape – the most horrible kind of war crimes."[5] US prosecutors also charged that the "Demon Forces" engaged in torture and attempted to silence critics of Charles Taylor. At Emmanuel's trial, Rufus Kpadeh, a former prisoner in Liberia, testified that Emmanuel's forces coerced prisoners into engaging in sexual acts while Emmanuel laughed.[2]

In October 2008, a jury convicted Emmanuel of 8 counts, including for torture, conspiracy to commit torture, and possession of a firearm while committing a violent crime.[10] In January 2009, Judge Cecilia Altonaga sentenced Taylor to 97 years in prison. He planned to appeal his conviction.[11] According to the Department of Justice, Taylor tortured victims with various means, including "burning victims with molten plastic, lit cigarettes, scalding water, candle wax and an iron; severely beating victims with firearms; cutting and stabbing victims; and shocking victims with an electric device."[7][12]

That same day, the World Organization for Human Rights USA filed a civil suit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida on behalf of five of Taylor Jr.'s victims pursuant to the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victims Protection Act.[13] The plaintiffs won by a default judgment on all counts. The civil trial to determine damages took place in late December 2009 and January 2010.[14]

As of 2009, Emmanuel was incarcerated in a federal prison in Florida.[15] As of 2019 he, under the name Roy M Belfast Jr. (Bureau of Prisons (BOP)#76556-004), is serving his sentence at the United States Penitentiary in Lee County, Virginia.[16] His release date is May 8, 2090.

• CASE NO. 06-20758-CR-ALTONAGA(s). Indictment of Charles McArther Emmanuel. Retrieved on March 2, 2020
• CASE NO. 06-20758-CR-ALTONAGA/Turnoff. Retrieved on March 2, 2020