Former Regiment Major guilty of sexual assault
Former Bermuda Housing Corporation boss Glenn Brangman was today convicted of a series of sex attacks on a teenage clerk.The 59-year-old, of Limehouse Lane, Hamilton Parish, can be named for the first time after being found guilty of four counts of sexual assault on Mr X, now aged 22, after a lengthy Magistrates’ Court trial.He had denied eight counts of sexual assault and was cleared of four charges.Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo, delivering his judgement, said of Brangman: “I find that neither he nor his witnesses have given me any good reason to doubt the veracity of [the victim] by their evidence.“I do not believe the defendant was being honest when he denied all of the allegations of sexual assault.”Mr Tokunbo said he found the victim, who gave evidence during the trial, to be an “honest, credible witness who strove to give a true and accurate account to this court”.The Royal Gazette can reveal that similar allegations were made against Brangman by 13 male soldiers while he was an officer in the Bermuda Regiment, but none were ever proven.Only one case went to court, in 2001, when Brangman walked free after a magistrate deemed the alleged victim’s testimony to be inconsistent and unreliable.An investigation by this newspaper in 2009 uncovered the series of claims from conscripts who said they were attacked or touched inappropriately by the former Quartermaster between 1989 and 2002, when he was ordered by the Governor of the day to retire.We discovered one other allegation of sexual harassment concerning a different officer during the same time period.This newspaper revealed the alleged sexual misconduct in September 2009, prompting calls from politicians for a Royal Commission and leading to three inquiries, by the Regiment, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Human Rights Commission.We were unable to reveal Brangman’s identity at the time for legal reasons.The disclosure is likely to raise serious questions about why he was allowed to remain in charge of young conscripts for so long and whether proper processes were in place at the Island’s part-time army for dealing with such issues.The Royal Gazette shared its findings with Governor Sir Richard Gozney, the Regiment’s commander-in-chief, in October 2009. He told us: “There were complaints and allegations about certain behaviour at the Regiment in the years before 2002.“They were investigated by the Regiment at the time and referred to the Bermuda Police Service when necessary. Clearly no evidence of criminal action sufficient to support a prosecution was found.“An officer left the Regiment in 2002. As far as I am aware no comparable complaints and allegations have been made about behaviour at the Regiment by those in authority there since 2002.“That is why I do not support an outside investigation now into activity at the Regiment.”Brangman, who was tasked in June 2009 with helping the Guantánamo Bay Uighurs settle on the Island, was taken on as a consultant by Government in 2005 and made head of BHC the following year. The job brought him into regular contact with young, vulnerable men in need of housing.We launched our investigation and delved into Brangman’s past after being approached by the latest victim about the abuse he suffered while still a teenager.The sexual assaults on him in 2009 were not connected to the Regiment. But the young man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was a conscripted private and refused to fulfil his regimental duties, because Brangman was accused of similar attacks while a serving officer. The victim claimed he did not believe Warwick Camp was a safe environment.The 13 allegations made at Warwick Camp against Brangman between 1989 and 2002 are detailed in court documents obtained by this newspaper. We also conducted numerous interviews with former soldiers and high-ranking officers who served during the period.Brangman will be sentenced next month. Mr Tokunbo increased his bail to $50,000 with one surety and ordered him to surrender his travel documents and report weekly to Hamilton Police Station.