Charged couple change plea in child trafficking case

In a dramatic turn of events, a couple charged with selling a young girl into sexual slavery has changed their plea…from guilty to not guilty. Latest reports out of Belmopan indicate that twenty-one year old Celia Garcia and her common-law husband Walter Swazo appeared in Magistrate’s Court this afternoon as scheduled, but as the judge was reading out the facts of the case to them, the couple objected. As a result, Swazo and Garcia’s former pleas had to be changed and the matter will now have to go to trial. Garcia and Swazo, both residents of Bella Vista Village in the Stann Creek District have been charged with trafficking in persons after a thirteen year old reported that the couple took her to Belmopan and sold her to another man, Santos Martinez. The child has maintained that Santos then took her to El Salvador via Guatemala and that she was sexually assaulted a number of times by Santos. Earlier this month, the matter was reported to Salvadoran authorities and the girl was sent back to Belize. Last week Friday, Garcia and Swazo pleaded guilty to the charge in Belmopan and were originally scheduled to be sentenced today. The case against them has now been adjourned until December twenty-third. Meanwhile, we understand that for his part in the disturbing deal, Santos Martinez remains in custody in his native El Salvador, pending possible extradition proceedings to Belize to face similar charges here. The victim is currently in the care of the Human Services Department.