A Belize City man has been convicted of molesting an 8-year-old girl. The case against Moises Flores concluded before Senior Magistrate Aretha Ford in the Belize City Magistrate’s court on Wednesday, August 21, 2019. This is a very serious offense for which one could have been sentenced for up to seven years but after the magistrate took into consideration the fact that Flores is a first time offender, he was only sentenced to two years.
It was reported that sometime between May and June 2017, the then 8-year-old child informed the authorities that Flores inserted his finger into her vagina. The child who testified from behind a screen, says that at the time of the incident, she was at home and that her mother was outside washing some clothes. Flores allegedly went into the house and laid down beside her on the bed. He ordered her to undress and that is when Flores allegedly inserted his finger into her vagina, causing her to feel pain and bleed. When he was through, he used a cloth to wipe the blood off his finger and the ground. She then said that he threatened to kill her entire family if she told anyone. This fear, the victim says, is what kept her from telling her mother sooner. It took some weeks for her to tell her sister and eventually, the matter was reported to the police.
During the trial, Flores, who was unrepresented, maintained his innocence. The case was prosecuted by Sergeant Carmen Selgado and a doctor’s examination of the child showed redness to the child’s private part and recounts that a fresh tear was present.
