Harrowing child cruelty lands mother and step-father in court

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Mirna Canelo
Ponciano Coc

A mother and step-father of two minors in Hattieville Village, Mirna Canelo and Ponciano Coc are out on bail after being charged with child cruelty on two of their children.
The couple were charged jointly with one count of child cruelty upon a 12-year-old child. Allegations are that sometime between November 1, and November 22, 2020, in Hattieville Village, being over 18, and having care of the minor, they willfully ill-treated him in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering.
Coc was additionally read a charge of child cruelty upon another one of his step-children, a child, who is under the age of 12. Allegations are that on November 15, 2020, in Hattieville Village, being over 18, and having care of the minor, he willfully ill-treated him in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering.
Coc was also read two additional counts of harm upon the two minor boys. A fifth count was read to the couple where they were jointly charged with another count of harm upon the 12-year-old minor.
In a report to the police, the 12-year-old child, (who is Canelo’s son) was taken to the Hattieville Police Station by a social worker. The boy reported to police that he lives with his mother and step-father and three other siblings but that his step-father has been living with his mother for almost four years now, and ever since he has been treating them badly.
According to the 12-year-old boy, for every complaint his mother gives to their step-father, he would beat them with his hands and that he abuses them by drinking and smoking at the home.
The 12-year-old boy said that on November 8, 2020, he and his brother, who is under the age of 12, ended up living at a child care center located in Northern Belize because his mother had burnt his eyes with a spatula.
They were placed in the care of different relatives but that he was later sent back home to live with his mother and his brother along with their step-father.
The boy’s complaint ranged from being beaten with a rope by his step-father to his hands being placed on a comal (flat grill) after being sent to sell choco bananas and not bringing home the entirety of the money. He also told the police that in one instance he was literally hog-tied to a rafter in the house’s ceiling.
According to the 12-year-old boy, his mother then told him, “Dis ketch yuh because ah thief, and uno nuh do things right.” The boy said his mother then grabbed a ruler and began to hit him, and he sustained a burst lip. Then his step-father joined in and began to beat him until he was in great pain.
The boy said he was left to hang there on the rope while his mother and step-father sat in the room eating watermelon. After a while, his step-father came out of the room and untied him from the rope where he fell to the ground. He was left there until he asked for food and was allow to eat but could barely do so because of the pain he was in at the time.
The boy told police that after that incident, he was in pain for two weeks
The boy’s ordeal continued on November 15, 2020, a Sunday, when his step-father arrived home and asked them why they were not listening to their mother. At that point his step-father told him to get a rope off the shelf and he made two knots on it and placed it around the 12 year old and his brother’s necks and then he hung them from a board in one of the house’s rooms. He then pulled the rope leaving both of them to hang off the ground.
The 12-year-old boy said, he could not even scream as he was in pain. While it was just for a short while, his mother just sat in a chair and watched and laughed at them.
After they were released from the rope, his step-father tied up their hands and later released the rope from their hands and made them drink water and finish their chores.
The 12-year-old boy further told police that a week later, on Sunday, November 22, 2020, he was told by his mother to go pick up a quilt. When he returned home the quilt was dirty. The boy told his mother that it was done by a dog. The boy’s younger brother verified the story but nonetheless he was blamed for it and as punishment, his mother pushed him into the front door and told him to leave the house because he could not stay there anymore. He left the house and would later be asked to return home by his step-father. When he got back home he was going to be beaten by his step-father with a rope. Upon seeing this the boy ran to the Hattieville Police Station and told the police what had happen.
The child said that at the station, when his mother was questioned by the police, his mother told them that all his injuries were self-inflicted.
A social worker was later called in to check-out the matter and the parents were arrested and charged by Hattieville Police.
In court, Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer expressed great concern over the treatment of the children and imposed bail of $4,000 with the condition that they stay away from the children.