A council’s new married Labour leader has a sleazy past – he was caught covered in lipstick at an illegal sex den.
Brent Carter, 52, had only been inside the back street brothel for a few minutes when police raided.
A court heard Carter, a Labour councillor in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was found ‘covered in lipstick’.
Police also found packets of condoms on the floor along with lubricating gel.
Carter avoided prosecution and held onto his seat for Labour in the 2022 local elections.
Brent Carter, 52, had only been inside the back street brothel for a few minutes when police raided. Carter avoided prosecution and held his seat for Labour in the 2022 local elections and became leader of Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council at a meeting on Wednesday night
Police raided it in 2015 and arrested pimp Leon Hall (pictured), 36, who was given a 10-month suspended sentence who admitted keeping a brothel used for prostitution
He became leader of Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council at a meeting on Wednesday night after the local Independent group lost its majority following a by-election.
But residents of the former iron and steel town say his appointment is ‘highly embarrassing’.
Council tax payer Simon Ryan, 57, a taxi driver in the town, said: ‘How will people respect the town when its leader has acted in this way?
‘He was caught red-handed in a brothel – people can’t have faith in a man like that.
‘It’s highly embarrassing for him and for Merthyr Tydfil which has improved its reputation over recent years.’
Residents of the town’s Regent Street complained that the round-the-clock activity at the terraced house had been a nuisance for a year and was causing ‘distress’ to neighbours.
Police raided it in 2015 and arrested pimp Leon Hall, 36, who was given a 10-month suspended sentence who admitted keeping a brothel used for prostitution.
Regent street where police raided the brothel. A court heard Carter, a Labour councillor in Merthyr Tydfil, South Wales, was found ‘covered in lipstick’. Police also found packets of condoms on the floor along with lubricating gel
The case at Merthyr Tydfil Magistrates Court heard Cllr Carter was in the property at the time of the raid and Hall’s lawyers said it proved the brothel ‘vetted’ its customers.
It’s understood the brothel was staffed by Eastern European women who were allowed to keep two-thirds of their earnings.
Carter avoided criminal charges but his behaviour was reported to the Public Service ombudsman for breaching Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council’s Code of conduct.
The Ombudsman later ruled there was no evidence that Cllr Carter brought his office or authority into disrepute ‘as opposed to bringing himself personally into disrepute’.
The Labour councillor, who has represented the Plymouth ward in the town since 2008, was approached for a comment.