Disclaimer: We are a family and members of society and not attorneys although we may consult with lawyers for clarification as we continue to educate ourselves. As we navigate through these trying times the realness of systemic inequity, racism and unfairness becomes more than just a newsflash on the web or television. Our faith in Jesus and our God!

Victor Colebut is a human being, a child of God, a son, a brother, a cousin, a nephew, a grandchild, a father, an uncle and a loved one and friend to many. He is innocent.

This site is dedicated to advocating for fairness and equality in the Rhode Island Courts. As we peacefully stand up for Victor Colebut, a man who has maintained his innocence and who is also presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, we have faced hard realities. The inhumane tactics used on Victor Colebut since the time he dialed 911 on Febuary 17, 2020 to psychologically and mentally torture him and the extremely long pre-trial detention are effective ways to pressure an innocent person into taking a plea deal for a crime that they did not commit. For over three (3) years Victor has been treated as if he is not human and as if he has absolutely no rights simply because the Pawtucket Police Department has accused him of a crime and because he has exercised his Constitutional Rights.

Victor Colebut is native Rhode Islander, he was born in 1978 at Woman and Infants hospital in Providence. He is a United States citizen, he is a minority man with a beautiful and unique blend of Cape Verdean, Portuguese, African, Bermudian, Barbadian, Crucian ancestry. Victor has deep roots in Rhode Island on both his mother and father’s side.

Victor has a kind heart, he loves reading, writing (thus, the nickname “KingPen”), watching movies, collecting comic books, video gaming and animals. He has a jovial personality, and he is always willing to help others. One cousin recalls how he carried one of his little cousins on his back for blocks all the way home from the comic book store because his cousin was crying and tired of walking. Victor is a very compassionate, forgiving and trusting person. He is not perfect, none of us are, he has made his share of bad choices as we all do. Alcohol is one of those bad decisions and it took its tool on him; Victor suffers with alcoholism, which is a disease and not a crime.

Alcohol Addiction is a Disease – Sobriety is a Struggle

Victor surrendered to his alcohol addiction after suffering with it for several years, going in and out of rehab programs at the families urging did not work. He left his home and became homeless. In May of 2011 he was struck by a car in front of his home at 54 Pomona Street in Providence. He suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and was on life support and in a coma at Rhode Island Hospital. It was the love, prayers and support of his family and friends that helped him through that horrible time. When the doctor stopped the Propofol he did regain consciousness but Victor did not remember being hit by the car. Initially he could not remember anything not even his own children or mother.

Family members were key to his recovery, they told him what happened and shared old memories to help him recall as the doctor suggested. One of his cousins, his daughters godfather, brought a few large framed photos of his daughters to the hospital. Soon Victor would re-learn how to hold a fork and feed himself, how to write his name, brush his teeth, dress himself and more.

Victor struggled to remember the accident and the first three weeks afterwards but simply could not. The frustration of having a chunk of his life gone with no memory of it would haunt Victor, but eventually he accepted his reality. What he could not accept for years was the fact that as the result of the brain injury and frontal lobe damage he needed continued care. But eventually he did accept help. He was treated at the New England Brain Institute and it was then that Victor faced the fact that as a TBI survivor who was left with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), seizures and depression he needed prescription medications to manage.

He chose homelessness to avoid any conflicts with his ex, and believed it was the right thing to do. He quit deeded the home on 54 Pomona Street to his ex-girlfriend and they parted amicably. They have never had any issues with their two children. Because the couple had a prior incident in 2008, after which they had their second child in 2009, when Victor was struck by the car in 2011 he was charged with assault. Due to his medical condition his parent’s worked with a private attorney and a plea deal was made. He was on probation and homeless when he met the mother of his two youngest children. And Victor and Kristine’s history began as they became best friends.

Alcoholics Must Surrender to their Addictions

On February 6, 2020 Victor relapsed and dialed 911 for help as taught in rehab. The rescue arrived in minutes and he was transported to the hospital for detox, and from there he was transported to the Phoenix House in Exeter, RI. After safe detoxification and an evaluation his counselor arranged for Victor to go into a residential program in Mass. for six months to a year which he agreed to. However, after being homeless and finally having a place to call home Victor was anxious about loosing his apartment. He made a bad choice, on Saturday, February 15, 2020 he left the Phoenix House to go home and secure his housing. On Sunday morning, February 16, 2020 he met up with Kristine at a church in Providence. They both knew that there was an active no contact order and that he was out on bail for a pending incident between them, but neither cared. They wanted to be together. She went with him to her apartment in North Providence where she packed an overnight bag and the couple took the bus to Pawtucket together. Bringing her to his apartment under the circumstances was a very bad decision.

Kristine Ohler had a history of drug and alcohol abuse and of passing out in the streets. The only difference this time is that it happened inside of Victor’s apartment. Having her in his home and drinking with her was foolish. Kristine passed out and Victor dialed 911 for a rescue. The police dispatcher refused to send a rescue and the police responded.

At age 41 Victor Colebut was seized in his apartment located at 65 Fountain St. 3rd Floor in Pawtucket, RI and he will soon be 45 years old. He has spent the last three years locked up at the Adult Correctional Institute – and he is not convicted. He has never had a bail hearing, he is being held without due process of law. Victor Colebut is an innocent man who is being framed by the Pawtucket Police.

As a result of his unlawful arrest and lengthy pretrial detention he and his family have suffered immensely. It is by faith in our God and the constant prayers of loved ones, friends and supporters that we have endured and survived all of the intentional emotional and mental torture. It is by God’s grace that Victor is still alive.

A Lengthy Pretrial Detention Intended to Punish is Unlawful

At the beginning of his pretrial detention in 2020 his prescription medication was denied and then improperly administered until the then Medical Director, Ms. Clarke, was contacted and addressed the problem. Victor suffers with seizures and although he is medically suppose to be assigned to a bottom bunk according to the DOC policies he has constantly been assigned to be on a top bunk. Victor has had seizures while asleep and has fallen off of a top bunk several times and injured himself.

Victor wears glasses but because he is not “convicted” he is not entitled to medical care, he was not allowed to go to his eye doctor for an exam or fitting; his father had to provide glasses. In May of 2021 Victor was bleeding from his lower back and was “allegedly” operated on at Rhode Island Hospital but there are no records of his being hospitalized at any of the Rhode Island Hospitals on the day and night in question. Yet, Victor did have stitches in his lower back. He was only given a gauge to care for it. The bleeding became so bad that DOC staff gave him a diaper to wear instead of taking him to the hospital for proper treatment. After several complaints to the DOC and request for medical care he was given a cream to apply and eventually he did heal.

Victor did not own much but he had achieved sobriety, and he was struggling to maintain it. But because of his unlawful arrest and the state opposing bail and holding him without bail illegally he lost his housing and all of his belongings. Books, clothing, shoes, electronics, his coin collection and sentimental things such as his Nana Olga’s photograph and his children’s photographs, everything that he owned was thrown away.

He has never had the opportunity to mourn the lose of his best friend, the mother of his two youngest daughters and his girlfriend. Due to the charges on February 17, 2020 Victor was forced to sign away his rights to the children that he shared with Kristine Ohler; Lucille Margaret Colebut and La’el Kristine Colebut. They were in DCYF foster care and adopted out. The court did acknowledge the children’s bond with their father, it was an open adoption, Victor was granted visitation rights. However the adoptive parents, Tammy and Lee Martin, are in contempt of court. The bond with Lucille and La’el has been severed by the adopted parents because Victor has been held without bail. Victor has tried to use the resources at the DOC to maintain communication and visitation with his children to no avail. It is the DOC’s policy to ensure that the fathers who are locked up have a means to communicate with their children.

While incarcerated Victor’s mail was stolen by one of the State’s witnesses who lived on the first floor at 65 Fountain St. in Pawtucket and Victor’s name was forged on his IRS stimulus check. A false claim for income taxes was filed in his name. And it appears that someone filed for unemployment in his name during the pandemic – this has yet to be confirmed.

The Sixth Amendment is applicable to the states by the Fourteenth § 1 Amendment and guarantees the effective assistance of counsel.

Is it fair to accuse Victor of serious crime, deny him bail, deny him his right to a prompt and speedy trial and force him to live in deplorable conditions? Is is fair to interfere with his ability to communicate outside of the prison walls and deprive him of his rights and protections under the laws? Is is fair for anyone to be railroaded due to a lack of legal assistance? No, no and no! It is not only unfair it is cruel and inhumane treatment that has a negative psychological impact.

The Pawtucket Police and State’s Assistant Attorney General’s, the prosecutors, have resorted to unfair and unethical tactics intended to prejudice the public and any potential jurors. The prosecution team has went out of its way to tarnish, defame and mar Victor’s character. They have used their power and connections with media outlets and organizations that have hundreds of thousands of readers.

The state’s attorneys Jonathan Burke and Shannon Signore’s lack of integrity makes the Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office look very untrustworthy to the public.

The lack of fair, honest and ethical legal assistance has severely prejudiced Mr. Colebut and helped the prosecution.