Taximan convicted of molesting minor in vehicle

Nestor Gallindo

After almost a week in trial, Belize City taxi-man, Nestor Gallindo, a Salvadoran national, was found guilty today of committing an aggravated assault upon a fifteen year-old minor on January second of this year. The assault occurred in Gallindo’s taxi after the child’s mother sent him to pick up her daughter. In trial, the minor told the court that Gallindo appeared to be under the influence so she entered the vehicle and sat in the back seat. As he drove to her destination, he tapped her once and then caressed her legs twice. The minor said that she became annoyed with his touching and began to cry. Gallindo threatened that if she told her mother or anyone else he would have her fired from her job but the child eventually reported the matter to her. Gallindo denied the allegations saying he was innocent of the crime and this is why he stayed in Belize to face trial.  Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford told Gallindo that she could not believe his version of the events and found him guilty. On December fourth, 2017 he will learn his fate.