Belize farmer gets 16 years in prison for child rape

BELMOPAN, Belize (CMC) – A 43-year-old farmer from Belize has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted of two counts of raping a 14-year-old child.

Judge Candace Nanton handed down the sentence to Vicente Cerraras after hearing mitigating arguments from two character witnesses, including his mother and his pastor.

The convicted man expressed remorse for his action, admitted his guilt and said he was sorry for what he had done.

Cerraras was given a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years for each charge, but was sentenced to two 16-year prison terms.

Judge Nanton said she had taken into account the time he had spent in custody and ordered his two sentences to run concurrently.

Cerraras was found guilty of the two counts of rape of a child on July 22 this year after DNA evidence linked him to the crime scene.

Despite the DNA results, he had initially denied raping the child on June 27, 2019, and again on August 26, 2019.