Unrepresented an freed of sex charge

A jury of six women and three men was not convinced of an allegation by a thirteen year old that she was sexually abused by twenty-one year old Cesar Diaz, a naturalized Belizean from El Salvador. The case of carnal knowledge concluded today in the Supreme Court and Diaz, a boat builder, who was unrepresented walked away a free man from the Court of Justice Herbert Lord. The jury deliberated for about three hours before arriving at the unanimous decision. The prosecution represented by Crown Counsel Trinia Young, sought to prove that during the early morning hours of May fourteenth, 2007 Diaz sexually abused the girl at a boat yard on the Northern Highway where he was employed. According to the girl’s testimony which she gave in camera, she made arrangements to meet Diaz near the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and she slipped out of her mother’s house around twelve-thirty and headed for the meeting place. She said when she met Diaz at the pre-arranged location he hired a taxi which took them to the boatyard. And according to the girl, Diaz had sex with her in an area of the boatyard and he took her to sleep in a red boat until at about seven o’clock in the morning. A doctor who examined the girl testified that she had been sexually known.

But Diaz’s account from the dock was significantly different and he denied he had sex with the girl. Instead Diaz told the court that at about eleven-thirty p.m. on May thirteenth a male friend of his asked to borrow the key for the boatyard because he wanted to hide a female friend. He agreed and gave the key to the friend on the condition that it is returned to him. Diaz said he waited until about one-thirty the following day and when he did not get it back, he proceeded to the boat yard the following morning to retrieve the key and to deliver the girl’s passport at the request of his friend. It was at this time that the police arrived at the boatyard and found him with the girl. And according to Diaz, the girl made up the story because she wanted to have an affair with him and he refused. The girl’s mother testified that she discovered that her daughter was not in the house when her son began to cry because she could not be located. She contacted the police who found the girl at the boatyard.