Father found guilty of 2 counts of incest

In the Belize City Supreme Court, the conviction of a forty-eight year old father was secured on Thursday evening before Justice Troadio Gonzalez for sexually abusing his young daughter.  A jury of nine deliberated a little over three hours and found the father guilty of two counts of incest. While his name is being withheld to protect his daughter, the disturbing incident goes back to 2009 when his then ten year-old daughter claimed that he had sex with her in July and August at his home in Belize City. The man was initially charged with two counts of incest and one count of aggravated assault of an indecent nature upon his daughter. But there was insufficient evidence to prove the indecent assault, so prosecutor Kileru Awich withdrew that charge and pursued only the incest offenses. At the end of the trial, the juror’s decision on the two counts of incest was not unanimous.  Eight members believed he was guilty given the evidence but one was not convinced.  In his defence, the father denied the allegations saying it was not him.  He further claimed that in 2009, when his daughter alleged he had sex with her, he was not in Belize City to have committed the crime. But the jury did not buy his defence or version of the event and convicted him.  Justice Troadio John Gonzalez deferred sentencing upon to February twenty-first 2014 when he will hear mitigation pleas on his behalf. This is the father’s second sexual offense conviction as he is presently serving a three year jail term for the offense of aggravated assault of an indecent nature upon another minor.