Rapist gets 28 years

A Belizean American, forty-six year old Mark Thompson has been found guilty of raping his goddaughter and second cousin and will now pay the price. Supreme Court Judge Christopher Blackman sentenced Thompson to twenty-eight years in prison, after a jury of four women and five men returned the verdict after deliberating for two hours in the Supreme Court. Prior to sentencing, defence attorney Simeon Sampson asked Justice Blackman to grant his client the minimum sentence of eight years based on the fact that Thompson’s background is immaculate. Blackman for his part, reminded Sampson saying “Such a sentence would trivialise the crime and he has to ensure that people won’t see rape as just rape; nobody got killed.” He continued by saying, “Thompson is guilty of a breach of trust, the trust between godfather and goddaughter.” The case for the crown was represented by prosecutor Rhon Philips. The incident occurred on February tenth, when a twenty-year old Belizean American student from New York came to Belize on holiday with Thompson, her godfather. The student told police that she was raped by Thompson who entered her bedroom while she was going to sleep. Both the victim and Thompson were staying at a house in the Buttonwood Bay area of Belize City when the incident occurred.