Brent Adair Habetler, 46, who fled Bermuda and returned to Saskatchewan, skipping his sentencing hearing, has been sentenced in Bermuda in absentia to jail time for committing an indecent act in a public place and fined for an assault.
Habetler was handed 10 weeks of jail for the indecent act and fined $500 for an assault, reported The Royal Gazette in Bermuda on Friday.
Habetler – who legally changed his name to Sir Brent Habetler and claimed to be third cousin to Queen Elizabeth II – was found guilty in Bermuda Magistrates Court on April 5 and was to be sentenced April 8 on charges of committing an indecent act and assault, but left Bermuda.
Bermuda Magistrate Craig Attridge told the court April 12 that the only reason he allowed Habetler to return home was because prosecutors initially said that they hoped to seek a fine as punishment before later changing their position, reported The Royal Gazette.
He added that, had the Crown submitted from the start that a custodial sentence was appropriate, Habetler would still be on the island.
Magistrate Attridge also withdrew $1,500 from Habetler’s bail bond for failing to appear in court, reported The Royal Gazette. The court heard in a hearing on Tuesday that Habetler had left $2,000 with his lawyer, Victoria Greening, to cover any fines imposed by the court following his departure.
Habetler's arrest in Bermuda
Habetler was arrested in Bermuda in November 2023 for masturbating in a public place. The charge stemmed from when Habetler was a guest at the Willowbank Resort in Southampton, Bermuda. He was also charged with assaulting a man at a hotel.
Bermuda Police Service Corporate Communications Manager Gary Moreno had confirmed the charges with SaskToday.
Willowbank Resort in Bermuda was called in November 2023 for confirmation that Habetler was a guest. The clerk said, “Oh is that the man from Canada?" and then added, "He left last week.” When asked about Habetler’s charges stemming from his stay at the hotel, the clerk said “you have to talk to the police.”
In a phone interview in November 2023, Trevor Lindsay, journalist and owner of TNN in Bermuda, said that Habetler was forced to leave the hotel after he was arrested. He said Habetler had gone to another hotel afterwards and was turned away.
During Habetler’s trial in Bermuda in February, The Royal Gazette reported that a woman testified Habetler was looking in the direction of her daughter and granddaughter while performing the indecent act, and told her that he “had an itch.”
Fake royal? No proof found in Habetler’s claims to be royalty
Habetler had legally changed his name to Sir Brent Adair Habetler and claimed to be third cousin to the now late Queen Elizabeth II.
But after genealogy expert, Xenia Stanford from Family Roots Tracer in British Columbia, spent countless hours pouring over family trees and archives trying to find any evidence that would prove Sir Habetler's Royal lineage, she came up empty-handed, saying no historical evidence proving Habetler’s claims could be found.
Habetler, and his lawyer, were given numerous opportunities to respond to these findings before they were published by SaskToday, but neither responded.
Stolen valour
Habetler had also claimed that he was a sniper and a weapons tech in the military. He said after being recognized as third cousin to Queen Elizabeth II, he represented the Monarchy at a military event in Wainwright, Alta.
In August 2019, when asked, the Wainwright military base would neither confirm nor deny Habetler's claim to have participated in their military event as a member of the Monarchy.
Three months later, in October 2019, information about . Stolen Valour said Habetler claimed to have served in the Canadian Army from 1999-2003, and was a member of 1 PPCLI / Joint Task Forces 1 & 2 [weapons tech and sniper]. He claimed to have been deployed to the Balkans, Africa, Middle East and Central America and retired on a “quarter pension” as a Master Corporal. He claimed to have a secret knighthood for his combat service in JTF2 on operations in Venezuela.
Stolen Valour said that the reality was “Sir Brent doesn’t have a single day of CF service.”
Faced similar charges decades ago in Canada
According to a Feb. 17, 2000, story in the Prince George Free Press, Habetler, then 22, was charged with two counts of committing an indecent act and exposing himself for a sexual purpose. The story states that on Jan. 8, 2000, police received a report that a man had lured a 10-year-old girl into the washroom at the Elksentre where he committed an indecent act.
Habetler was arrested and released on bail on strict conditions. He was barred from all fast food restaurants, the Elksentre and all public places where young girls may frequent such as playgrounds. Following a trial in July 2000, one charge was dropped, and he was acquitted on the other charge.
Sask. RCMP warns residents Habetler high-risk to re-offend
In March 2023, Saskatchewan RCMP released Habetler's photo to media and said that in the interest of public safety, they were warning residents of the Maidstone RCMP detachment area, and surrounding communities, that Habetler had been charged with committing an indecent act, and that he was at high risk to reoffend
— for more from Crime, Cops and Court.
