In anticipation of a plea agreement between prosecutors and the accused, the upcoming trial of Alfredo Bruce Smith has been postponed. Photo: VIC

An order issued on Tuesday, September 5, 2023, by presiding judge Robert Molloy indicated that “the jury selection and trial currently scheduled for September 11, 2023, is continued pending the court’s consideration of the parties’ impending plea agreement.”

Smith, a former track & field coach at the Charlotte Amalie High School on St Thomas, was arrested in September 2021 on a 20-count indictment alleging that he coerced and enticed minors into sexual activity, and produced pornographic videos of children at the school. Investigations began earlier that year after reports that the coach sexually assaulted a minor child during a school-sponsored track and field trip in March 2019. A superseding indictment filed in late August 2023 upgraded some of the charges of unlawful sexual contact from a second to a first-degree offense. 

Prosecutors and defense were ordered to file a joint notice with the court by Tuesday, September 12,  indicating the status of the plea agreement, while Smith, who has been detained in Puerto Rico since his arrest, is expected to be transported to St. Thomas the following day.

Smith’s arrest, and the allegations detailed against him shocked the community, as the public learned that the former coach may have been abusing minor boys in his care for as many as 13 of the 15-year tenure at CAHS. His arrest sparked investigations into possible policy and protocol lapses by the Department of Education, with the Departments of Justice and Human Services subsequently getting involved. Neither agency has released the results of these investigations to the public.