Charles McArther Emmanuel (born February 12, 1978), also known as Chuckie Taylor, is an American-Liberian former soldier and war criminal. He is the son of Charles Taylor, the former President of Liberia.Ex-prisoner: Taylor's son laughed at torture
." '' CNN''. September 30, 2008. Raised by his mother in the U.S. until he was 16, Taylor Jr. traveled to

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

in 1994 to live with his father. During his father's presidency, he became the commander of the infamously violent Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), commonly known in Liberia as the "Demon Forces". After returning to the United States, he was arrested by the government for

human rights violations Human rights are universally recognized moral principles or norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both national and international laws. These rights are considered inherent and inalienable, meaning t ...

committed by the ATU. He is currently serving a 97-year sentence.

Early life

Born on February 12, 1978, in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Emmanuel lived much of his life in Orlando,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, 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 The middle class refers to a class of people in the middle of a social hierarchy, often defined by occupation, income, education, or social status. The term has historically been associated with modernity, capitalism and political debate. C ...

", was away from

Universal Orlando Resort Universal Orlando Resort, often shortened to Universal Orlando, is a theme park and entertainment resort complex located in Orlando, Florida. It is the flagship of the Universal Destinations & Experiences theme park chain. Following the succes ...

.Weimar, Carrie.
Liberian torture case traces back to Orlando
" '' St. Petersburg Times''. February 6, 2007. 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 Orange County is a county located in the central part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the county had a population of 1,429,908, making it the fifth-most populous county in Florida and the List of ...

. 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 Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

. Emmanuel was expelled, and according to Johnny Dwyer of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', possession of alcohol and illegal drugs was reportedly the reason. He later attended the College of West Africa in Monrovia, and the principal of that school also expelled him. He had exposure to the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War was the first of Second Liberian Civil War, two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread Political cor ...

, spending time with Bill Horace whose military unit was known for

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

s and executions.

Career

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 security force. According to U.S. prosecutors, when in Liberia, Emmanuel headed the "Demon Forces", a paramilitary, anti-terrorism security unit for Charles Taylor. Between 1999 and 2002, Emmanuel murdered at least four men, three of whom he 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 include 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.

Arrest and trial

In 2006, Emmanuel was placed under arrest at

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary international airport serving Miami and its Miami metropolitan area, surrounding metropolitan area, in the U.S. state of Florida. It hosts over 1, ...

after flying from

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

. He carried a passport that he received after falsifying his father's name on the application. The

Domestic Security Section The Domestic Security Section (DSS) was a component of the United States Department of Justice Criminal Division that was focused on the prosecution of significant alien smuggling organizations, complex immigration frauds, certain violent crime ...

of the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...

accused Emmanuel of passport fraud. That December, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 11 months in prison. Around the same time, he was then charged for participating in torture in Liberia. Emmanuel's trial was the first case where a U.S. citizen was prosecuted under a 1994 law that prohibits American citizens from participating in

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons including corporal punishment, punishment, forced confession, extracting a confession, interrogational torture, interrogation for information, or intimid ...

outside of the United States. Emmanuel was incarcerated at FDC Miami. Emmanuel rejected an offer to plead guilty in exchange for leniency. Elise Keppler, a counsel for the International Justice Program of

Human Rights Watch Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...

, said that the "Demon Forces" "did things like beating people to death, burying them alive,

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse, or other forms of sexual penetration, carried out against a person without consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person ...

– the most horrible kind of

war crimes A war crime is a violation of the laws of war that gives rise to individual criminal responsibility for actions by combatants in action, such as intentionally killing civilians or intentionally killing prisoners of war, torture, taking hos ...

." U.S. 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. 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 A violent crime, violent felony, crime of violence or crime of a violent nature is a crime in which an offender or perpetrator uses or threatens to use harmful Force (law), force upon a victim. This entails both crimes in which the violence, vio ...

. In January 2009, Judge Cecilia Altonaga sentenced Taylor to 97 years in prison. He planned to appeal his conviction. 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." 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. 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. , Emmanuel was incarcerated in a federal prison in Florida. 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.Find By Number
"

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

. Retrieved on October 12, 2017. Enter "76556-004" His release date is June 18, 2090.

References

External links

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 {{DEFAULTSORT:Emmanuel, Charles McArther Living people 1978 births American people of Liberian descent American people convicted of murder American people convicted of torture American people convicted of fraud American people convicted of war crimes Liberian people convicted of murder Liberian people convicted of war crimes Children of presidents People from Boston College of West Africa alumni Politicide perpetrators People convicted of murder by the United States federal government Maynard Evans High School alumni