Retrial ordered for one convicted rapist and another is freed
Lewis Leiva
Two men that appeared before the Court of Appeal have had their convictions set aside. Lewis Leiva, also known as “DJ Whiz” was convicted in 2009 for raping a twenty year old American tourist who was vacationing in Belize. But his freedom was short-lived because the judges ordered a re-trial and that he surrender his passport. He was granted bail of five thousand dollars which, he could not meet and he was taken back in custody. His attorney, Simeon Sampson argued that the trial judge erred in law when he misdirected the jury by suggesting to them in his summing up that if the victim was intoxicated, she could not give consent to sex. While the judges agreed with Sampson, they ordered that Leiva be retried for rape.
But a thirty year old Gales Point Manatee resident, Leon Perez, who was convicted in May, 2009 for two counts of carnal knowledge for having sex with a fifteen year-old girl of the Belize
Leon Perez
District, was freed today. Perez, who was unrepresented this morning, was before the judges for about fifteen minutes when his conviction was squashed and his twelve year sentence was set aside. Perez had submitted that the trial judge did not properly direct the jurors in the sum up of his case; that the prosecutor failed to prove the victim’s age and thirdly, that they failed to produce a medico legal form to prove the allegations against him. Perez argued that while the medical form would have established that the child was carnally known, it could not say that he was responsible. After being set free Perez expressed a sign of happiness and hugged his father outside the courtroom.
Rape is rape even if the victim was intoxicated.That is even worse , because that is taking advantage.
I have to say, I’m impressed with Perez’s self-defense before the judges.
watch his pity eyes like his the victim now, sob rotten in hattieville prison
to me looks like perez should be a investigator since he knows lot more that the actually ddp, with his aligations for appeal he got his freedom, belizean the criminals are studing the laws and court lines so they defend themselves so easy and the fools ddp can’t say nothing.
In reply to Johnboy/carson. In the defence I have to say that I dont agreed, if you were a male, and once day you were drunk and the girl was drunk and then the night you decided to end up having sex with her but morning regrets from her and she then went to report to police stated that you had rape her and that do you think that was taking advantage? by who? or I should say who was the one that took advantage? The male or the female? The truth is it can happen to you or anyone out there it does not matter if it was male or female. More over, intoxication there are more definition than what it seems as, if you were to take Night Quil, under the definition of intoxication, you are intoxicated, but that does not necessarily means that you are not able to make the choice freely and able to consent. This does not mean to take sides but the fact that sometimes one maybe looking as a convict, but in the reality he or she can be the victim. There are so many frauds and set ups around the world, that this is just one example in our small country, look around the big countries this is happening every day and innocent man have been found guilty for no reason at all, for just that the female has the morning regrets or even to scam the man for money. When 2 persons are drunk and having sex with each other, that does not mean that it was taking advantage, as long as it was consensual sex and I am sure everyone some where in their life time has ever at least experience it once. When one is unconscious or being drug and not able to defend her or himself then that is so to call taking advantage. So not to take side here, I think this can happen to anyone, at any moment. Never the less not only it can happens to female being taking advantage of, it can also happens to males.
Cosensual sex could still end up as rape.The moment the woman say stop that is when the consent end , and the rape begins. A man could be guilty of rapeing his wife if he take it and she say no.That is the law.We as men have to get wiser and stop think with the small head.Think more with the big head.
psshhh
Belizean Pride, I have to say that as you can see that the case of the one with Perez, as you can see that he is even more clever than the DPP guy but have you ever think that maybe in both of these cases that was reported there are flaws on both cases. But I dont think sometimes the public is not informed and not enough information for them to know the real truth. Yes media is the tool for the public to know the news at first hand. But anyhow, the fact that our laws have lots of flaws and by the same token it has made many real killers got away from charges and then also at the same token it has made lots of innocent man in jail serving sentences that they dont deserve. But only people who would understand such level I would think when one ever experienced it. As personal expierence in Belize our laws is to help the criminals so to say the real criminals and then those are innocent are the ones to suffer from it. Look around, How many of the American criminals comes to Belize and beein capture for the last few months? This is a real criminal heaven. Until one of you out there ever experience the unfairness of the law and justice system in Belize then you can have the rights to speak out loud for or against it. Cause justice really is not as easy as everyone out there thinks. Do you know how many of these murder cases that the families of the murder victims never got their justice?
i agree John Boy,i think this situation was a “girls gone wild” incident where these tourist take this to the extreme and have regrets the next day.First of all i am a female that is alcohol free and drug free for that matter.How can someone go to a strange country and party and get filthy drunk with people that they don’t know? If he was the only one sober i can understand that he took advantage of her but both of them drunk,plus consensual sex does not add up to rape.We see these things happen with athletes in America all the time and they all was acquitted because as John boy said…either money or regret.Girls behaving badly should expect anything and not cry foul afterwards.
I greed with Ceecee and John Boy. Because of the fact that there are many of these cases, as Ceecee said, once you are drinking and then you need to take responsibility for your own act, it was her own choice that she choose to drink and get drunk I supposed, and that it is herself to put herself in such situation yet she had given consent by drinking. But in this case what I had heard was money that was involved. She had ask for money and blackmail the couple, and of course this was not the case so then the trial was involved. But anyhow, the fact the point I want everyone to know is that not only the man to be blamed but more of in any cases of rape I think we all need to think the situation not necessarily all the time it is the men are at fault, sometimes even consensual sex can be rape as John Boy had stated. As a female, I think it is not just female can only be the victim, but males also. Look around, the reason why he was being tried is because the girls were not successful in their scam n then they did not get any money as they wanted and then they just decided to report it. Of course it was a set up and that they do not have to live with the pain of memories and deal with the trial procedure, cause they do not live here in Belize and so forth they can walk away and leave the mess for others to sort it out. They have nothing to loose. But unfortunately a man who was innocent had to loose 6 months of his life and reputation dealing with such a lie and accusation. As a female, I feel shame cause can not comprehend that, but the second thought, there are females who would just set up to have a man fall for it and then to get something out of it. Sadly, lots of American girls are these types of people, it is all about the Dineros!n More over, I need to make a special note here, I have been dealing with lots of Americans and the fact that majority of Americans looks down on our country, thinking we are a third world country and that we are not educated as well as they are and we don’t know better so that they come here and pull off all these scams here.