Princes Town cop guilty of human trafficking

A police officer has been convicted on human trafficking charges.

Valentine Eastman, who was charged in 2013, was found guilty by a San Fernando jury on January 31.

Eastman, 63 of Princes Town, faced three charges that between March 3 and 25, 2013, he harboured Colombian women at Princes Town for the purpose of exploitation, in the form of prostitution. They were then taken to locations in Vistabella and Chase Village.

He was found guilty on two of these charges.

He was also charged with rape but was acquitted by the jury.

Fourteen witnesses were part of the State’s case, including two of the victims, who testified during the trial before Justice George Busby.

Eastman was remanded into custody and will return to court on March 28.

Eastman's co-accused, who faced six counts of transporting persons for exploitation under the Trafficking in Persons Act, was acquitted on January 13, after the State discontinued its case against him.

Makesi Hickson was charged in April 2013 alongside Eastman, based on allegations from three Colombian women who claimed they were trafficked into Trinidad for prostitution.

It was alleged that Hickson transported the women from their apartment to the Santa Maria Hotel in Chaguanas, where they worked as prostitutes, and to the Hawaii Hotel in San Fernando.

Hickson and Eastman went on trial in November 2024 before Busby.

The women refused to testify in person or virtually at the trial.

The State sought to admit prior statements and evidence recorded in the magistrates’ court, but Hickson’s defence team contested the application. The court ultimately rejected the prosecution’s application.

After the ruling, on January 13, prosecutors told the court they had decided to discontinue the case against Hickson, acknowledging that the remaining evidence, including testimonies from police and immigration officers, was insufficient to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt.

The San Fernando jury was then ordered to return a not-guilty verdict for all counts on the indictment.

The State was represented by Ambay Ramkellawan and Kyrn Lewis. Hickson was represented by Nicholas Rampersadsingh and Kameika Peters of the Public Defenders’ Department.