Teenage girl who says she had sex with Antiguan PM now in Guyana
ST JOHNS, Antigua (AP) — A teenage girl who said in a videotape she had sex with Prime Minister Lester Bird and did drug deals for him and his brother is now in Guyana, Bird’s attorney said yesterday.
Anthony Astaphan declined to say where in the South American country the girl was but said she was with her mother and Canadian-born journalist, B J Reed, one of two reporters who did the taped interview last year.
The girl, who is now 15, said in the videotape that she was born in Suriname on May 15, 1987, and carries a Guyanese passport. Both countries are on the northern tip of South America.
Bird’s attorneys on Monday filed lawsuits against the girl, the reporters, opposition politicians and a media group for defamation.
Bird, 64, has denied the allegations, which were made in a four-hour videotape where the girl speaks about alleged incidents she claimed occurred in 1999 when she was about 12.
One lawsuit was filed against the Observer media group; two of its directors, Samuel Derrick and Winston Derrick; journalists Julius Gittens and Reed; and the teenage girl.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction against the Observer media group to prevent publishing, reproducing or distributing any portion of the videotape. It also seeks compensatory damages for defamation of character.
The other suit names opposition leader, Baldwin Spencer, and three of his colleagues, Senators Colin Derrick, Harold Lovell and Wilmouth Daniel. It also seeks damages for defamation of character.
The opposition leaders, members of United Progressive Party, held a meeting on May 9 and showed the video at the meeting.
The girl claims she met Bird and his brother, Ivor Bird, at a party, and had a sexual relationship first with Ivor and then with Bird.
She also alleged that she made payments for cocaine deals on behalf of the prime minister, his brother, and Chief of Staff Asot Michael.
The two reporters, although unseen on the videotape, are heard identifying themselves on the tape.
The Observer said the girl, who is the only person shown on the tape, would appear should the lawsuit go to court. No trial date has been set.
