Former GSU Head Arraigned for Unlawful Sexual Intercourse

Mark Flowers

Oh how the mighty have fallen. At five-thirty this evening, former Gang Suppression Unit Commander Mark Flowers was formally arraigned for two counts of Unlawful Sexual Intercourse and has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison. Up until five minutes before he entered the Courtroom, CIB had asserted that on two occasions – once in January and another in March, he raped a minor, now fourteen. Rape is an offence bailable at the Magistrate’s Court, so theoretically Flowers could have been a free man this evening. But with the last minute change on the charge sheet from Rape to Unlawful Sexual Intercourse, he will spend some quality time as a guest at the Belize Central Prison. Now as we told you, this all happened at the eleventh hour, so when we spoke to attorney Dickie Bradley earlier in the evening, the charge against his client was still Rape. 

Richard “Dickie” Bradley

Richard “Dickie” Bradley, Attorney for Mark Flowers

“The Criminal Code was amended kit a few years ago and so was the Crime Control Act and the actual charge is that he raped the young lady on the two occasions. As you would know from your experience in covering court cases, normally when it is a minor, the charge is usually Unlawful Sexual Intercourse, which would be the equivalent of the old Carnal Knowledge. There has been an amendment confusion as usual, but he is in fact on the charge sheet charged with Rape. Now interestingly enough, the Crime Control Act has been amended that you cannot get bail for Carnal Knowledge, but in fact rape is a bailable offense in the Magistrate Court. So on the one had in his view, trying to smear him further and make him a rapist, allows the Magistrate to give him bail. I’ve told him no, we will not get bail; he has to go to the Supreme Court, but rape is a bailable offence in Belize.”