New jury empanelled in incest case

A new jury will have to be empanelled in the case of a forty-three year old Guatemalan charged with the incest of his fourteen year old daughter. After failing to show up for his trial on September thirtieth, Justice Troadio Gonzalez discharged the jury and issued a warrant for the man’s arrest. But about an hour later the defendant showed up and told the judge he was late because he journeyed all the way from San Ignacio. As a result the warrant was called off and he was released on his original bail of five thousand dollars. The man did not acquire the services of a lawyer which prompted Justice Gonzalez to adjourn the case until today.

The incident for which he is charged occurred on August twenty-sixth, 2006 in San Ignacio. His daughter, who was a standard six student at the time, reported to police that her father took her to a secluded area in San Ignacio and had sex with her. But that was not the first time it occurred. She said her father had sex with her several times before in Melchor De Menchos, Guatemala but it was the first time he had intercourse with her in Belize. The complainant is the eldest of five children. Because they live in the same house, the Department of Human services appointed a guardian for the girl.