Brighton Man Accused of Child Sexual Abuse in Haiti

A Brighton man is in police custody in Miami on charges of sexually abusing boys in Haiti, according to multiple news reports.

According to CNN, Carter has lived in Haiti since the mid-1990s, operating the Morning Star Center, a residential facility in Port-au-Prince that provides food and shelter to low-income children.

According to court documents secured by CNN, Carter allegedly molested several of the children at his center and required his victims to engage in illicit sexual acts in exchange for gifts or money or a continued place at the shelter.

The Livingston Daily reports that Carter is also known as William Charles Harcourt and Bill Carter and CNN says he frequently traveled back to the United States to raise money for Morning Star.

According to Reuters, Carter was arrested in Miami on May 8. At the time of his arrest, 14 boys lived at the center and three others spent weekends there.

Carter pleaded not guilty on Thursday to four counts of child sex tourism, or traveling in foreign commerce to engage in illicit sex with minors. If convicted on all the charges, he could be sentenced to up to 105 years in prison, the Reuters story says.