San Ignacio Police Charge One of Their Own for Rape

Vanessa Evans

Twenty-one year old Police Constable Luke Moreira was charged late Monday evening with two counts of rape, and formally arraigned this afternoon at the San Ignacio Magistrate’s Court. Moreira is accused of raping twenty-five year old Bullet Tree resident Vanessa Evans while she was detained at the San Ignacio Police Station on December nineteenth. Because of the incendiary nature of the case, CIB personnel from Belmopan were brought in to assist the investigation, which culminated in an identification parade at the station on Monday. Police in San Ignacio have been tight-lipped throughout, but today Deputy Commander Assistant Superintendent of Police Reymundo Reyes provided a chronology of events, starting from when the alarm was raised at five on Sunday, December twentieth.

Reymundo Reyes

ASP Reymundo Reyes, Deputy Commander, Cayo Formation

“Information was received through a non-commissioned officer that there was an incident involving a female and a uniformed Police officer in which she was alleging that the officer had sexually assaulted her. As a result an interview was conducted with the said female later that night and she said certain things during the interview which caused that an investigation be launched into the allegation being made against one of our own. A statement was recorded. The young lady was taken to the San Ignacio Hospital for a medical examination and witness statements from other prisoners were also taken that same night. The officer in question was brought in, informed of the report made and questioned. We investigated the matter thoroughly in which exhibits were retrieved, sent to the national forensic Service for analysis. The officer was placed in an identification parade and was positively identified by the victim who was a prisoner at the time here at the San Ignacio Police Station. Yesterday evening after five we laid charges against the officer, Mr. Luke Moreira, a Police Constable attached to the san Ignacio Police Station, for two counts of rape based on the report that we had received from one Ms. Evans who was at the time detained for a damage to property investigation.”