Maskall villager charged with rape of his ex-wife

A farmer from Maskall Village accused of rape and harm against his ex-common-law-wife faced an additional charge of Breaching a Protection Order from the Belize Family Court today. But that was not what sent him to jail, it was the alleged rape of his ex-wife that landed the thirty five year old behind bars. His thirty one year old ex-common-law wife alleges that the rape occurred on Friday in Maskall Village at her house. The woman claims that at about four thirty that morning she was at home when the accused came to her house and wanted to have sexual intercourse with her. She said she refused and that’s when he got into a struggle with her and raped her in her bedroom. He was arraigned twice – once in the Belize Family Court for breaching the protection order and again in the Magistrate’s Court for the rape charge. He pleaded not guilty and was offered bail in the Family Court. But in the Magistrate’s Court he accused his ex-wife of being the one who breached the order because she gave him permission to come to her house. In court the prosecutor, Sergeant Hector Rodriguez objected to bail on the basis that the matter is a very serious offense and the concern was that the accused will try to interfere with the victim. The prosecution also argued that because he breached the protection order, he did not take the court order seriously. The court upheld the objection to bail and remanded the accused into custody until September eighteenth.