A former Fredericton radio host facing charges after allegedly trying to solicit sex from a minor in Puerto Rico will plead guilty, according to United States district court documents.
Trevor Doyle, a former host with Capital FM, was charged with attempted enticement of a minor on April 4 after he allegedly tried to solicit sex from an FBI agent pretending to be a 13-year-old girl. He has pleaded not guilty in May.
Doyle’s trial was scheduled to get underway Monday. But according to United States district court documents, a pre-trial conference held Friday revealed that a plea offer was tendered and accepted.
“A term of 10 days was requested in order to finalize and draft the plea agreement,” the court documents read. “Defense counsel stated that the (change-of-plea) motion will be filed (Friday).”
Public defender Jésus Hernandez-Garcia notified the court that Doyle would now plead guilty in the change-of-plea motion.
“Mr. Doyle, after due considerations of his rights as pertaining to trial and the plea negotiations of the parties, has informed the undersigned counsel of his decision to change his
previously entered not guilty plea to one of guilty pursuant to an agreement between the parties,” Hernandez-Garcia stated.
“Mr. Doyle very respectfully moves for the scheduling of a hearing where he can change his previously entered plea of not guilty to one of guilty.”
Doyle’s trial was originally set for Oct. 10, 2019, but his lawyer was granted an extension on Sept. 27 by Judge Carmen C. Cerezo. The reason for the extension was not made clear.
A document filed on Dec. 12, 2019 indicates that the case was transferred to a different judge. The case is now being overseen by Judge Raul A. Arias-Marxuach, who according to the Federal Judicial Center, was nominated by U.S. President Donald J. Trump on Jan. 23, 2019.
Judge Arias-Marxuach granted Hernandez-Garcia’s motion and change-of-plea hearing has been set for Feb. 13 at 9 a.m.
Doyle remains in custody at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Guaynabo, just south of the capital city of San Juan.
The charge of attempted enticement of a minor carries a minimum sentence of 10 years.
According to an FBI affidavit, the charges against Doyle stem from him allegedly agreeing to meet a girl he believed to be underage for oral sex.
The affidavit states Doyle was arrested in the early morning hours of April 3, 2019.
Doyle was suspended from Capital FM after the charges came to light and is no longer a Bell Media employee.