Charles Dewey III is escorted by a Corrections officer at the courthouse.
AGAINST the advice of his lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Emily Thomsen, and the judge himself, defendant Charles Dewey III read a written statement to the court during a status conference on Wednesday, saying he is innocent and was “set up” by one of his alleged victims in Indiana.
Dewey appeared before Superior Court Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho for updates on the defendant’s pending extradition to Indiana.
Dewey, also known as Carter Allen Widmor, fled Indiana after six arrest warrants were issued against him. He has been accused of, among other things, rape and sexual misconduct with a minor.
In his written statement, Dewey said he was lured to a home in Fort Wayne under false pretenses.
“Once invited in by the daughter, the father and son of the household ambushed me, tying me up with zip ties, beating me with baseball bats (breaking all my ribs), robbing and torturing me,” Dewey said.
“When I managed to escape, I called 911. However, the police arrested me instead. The family told police I broke in and violated the daughter. The more proof I showed that I was kidnapped, including messages used to lure me and photos that I was tied up, [police] would not believe me,” Dewey added.
“At the time, I was just a 23-year-old who had never been in trouble before. I was terrified by all the false charges piling up against me [so I] ran away. Anyone who read the probable cause affidavit on my arrest warrant can see there’s quite literally no proof. It hurts so bad to show so much proof and still be treated like some pervert. It truly is ‘guilty until proven innocent’ these days,” he said.
“Anyone who knew me as Carter will know I am not a violent person or a sick criminal. Many of my recent jobs included teaching music at the Saipan Community School, teaching English at EUCON, and web designing at Northern Marianas International school. All involved me working closely with children. Anyone who knows me knows what type of person I am,” he added.
Saipan Community School/Saipan Community Church Pastor Stephen Dames in a statement to reporters said: “Charles Lee Dewey, known to us as Carter Widmor, never has been employed or volunteered [or] taught for Saipan Community School. He has never been associated with the school’s music program in any way. No music lessons were ever sponsored by Saipan Community School or Saipan Community Church nor were these organizations involved in assisting him with music lessons in any way.”
Moreover, Dewey was never an “active” volunteer at Saipan Community Church and did not have any “position” within the church, Dames said.
“He had served a couple times in setting up and cleaning up. While he did occasionally attend church services he hasn’t been in attendance for at least the last six months,” the pastor added.
After the hearing, Judge Camacho scheduled another status conference for Feb. 28 at 10 a.m.
Background
A multi-agency federal and local law enforcement task force arrested Dewey, 27, on Jan. 26 at his place of work, the Kagman Community Health Center.
On Jan. 8, 2024, the U.S. Marshals Service in the District of the Northern Mariana Islands received a request from the Northern District of Indiana, Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force in locating and apprehending Dewey, who was believed to be residing on Saipan.
On Jan. 19, Homeland Security Investigations and local task force officers located Dewey and learned that he was using the alias Carter Allen Widmor.
Dewey had also acquired a CNMI driver’s license as Carter Allen Widmor.
In a feature article published by Variety a year ago, Dewey, as Carter Widmor, said he was a cancer survivor who taught people how to play guitar for a minimal fee and was also a professional web designer.
In September 2023, Widmor, who said he was born in an Amish community, complained that the local Social Security Administration office had refused to issue him a Social Security number.
The state of Indiana issued against Dewey the following arrest warrants:
-
02D04-2012-F4-00129 on Dec. 10, 2020 for charges of count 1: dissemination of matter harmful to a minor; count 2: sexual misconduct with a minor; count 3: child solicitation.
-
02D05-2012-F4-000134 on Dec. 22, 2020 for charges of four counts of misconduct with a minor; one count of intimidation; and one count of possession of marijuana.
-
02D05-2012-F4-000024 Dec. 22, 2020 for charges of two counts of rape; two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor; one count of residential entry; one count of dissemination of matter harmful to minors; one count of possession of child pornography; and one count of child solicitation.
-
02D05-2106-F4-000059 on June 28, 2021 for the charge of one count of sexual misconduct with a minor.
-
02D06-2107-F5-000279 on June 14, 2021 for charges of one count of child solicitation; one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor; two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor; and one count of sexual battery.
-
02D05-2107-F4-000071 on July 22, 2021 for charges of two counts of sexual misconduct with a minor; one count of child solicitation; and one count of dissemination of matter harmful to a minor. Two minor victims were involved in this case.
