MONROVIA – The Monrovia City Court has ruled in favor of extraditing Othello Bruce, a Liberian-American national, to the United States where he faces multiple serious criminal charges, including four counts of aggravated statutory rape of a child.
The decision, delivered on Tuesday, April 29, 2025, by Stipendiary Magistrate L. Ben Barco, comes in response to a formal extradition request filed by the U.S. Embassy in Monrovia on August 19, 2024. The charges against Bruce total twelve indictments, including additional counts of indecent assault and battery on a person aged fourteen or older.
In his ruling, Judge Barco stated that the extradition request conforms with Liberia’s laws and the provisions of the extradition treaty between Liberia and the United States. “These offenses are covered under Article II, Sections 2 and 3, of the extradition treaty between the Republic of Liberia and the United States, and are not political in nature,” the judge said. “That is to say, the state has satisfied the requirement for the extradition of the fugitive, as spelled out in the extradition statute.”
The court has instructed its sheriff to officially turn over Mr. Bruce to the Ministry of Justice. Additionally, a certificate of committal is to be prepared and forwarded to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to complete the diplomatic protocols necessary for extradition.
