Tonight, a big time landlord and businessman is under scrutiny by police, after a 19 year old woman from Lake Independence alleges that he raped her. Normally, criminal charges would follow such a complaint, but police say a medical examination showed no signs of penetration, so they can't charge the businessman for rape. They are, however, considering charging him for aggravated assault and indecent assault. But, she is not satisfied with that - she says the physical assault and humiliation she was made to endure demands that he be charged for rape.
She made her case to the media today, by explaining off camera just what she was made to endure. We cannot disclose the identity of rape victims, and we cannot announce the name of someone who hasn't been charged - so the story is lacking in some critical details - but it is compelling. We warn you that the story does deal with subjects of a mature nature, and is not suitable for minors, so if kids are around, you might want to change the channel or ask them out of the room.
She explained that last week, she had a conversation with the man, because she was looking for an apartment. She gave him her number, and he called her on Friday afternoon, claiming to have apartments that she might want to consider. She then explained what happened after she got into his vehicle - Daniel Ortiz narrates:
Daniel Ortiz reporting
The victim tells us that once she got into the vehicle with him, he drove her up the highway under the pretence of showing her apartments he was renting in the community at 8 Miles on the Western Highway.
Instead he drove her into this road at the Homeland Memorial Park. By the time, he had already struck up conversation about the fact that he was the licensed holder of a gun. The woman says that given that he had already taken a turn off the road to an area she didn't know, and that he was talking about her gun, she got very scared and knew that he was going to take advantage of her.
He drove her to this little secluded area about a mile or so in, here the man then placed his gun where she could see it and demanded that she take off her clothes. She says that he begged him not to force her into sex, but he did it anyway.
With the constant threat of the gun nearby, she complied, where he took advantage of her in his vehicle, which was parked behind these bushes. She says that throughout the ordeal, he kept trying to convince her that she was enjoying it, and that he was somehow her lover.
Afterwards, the man forced her to clean up herself with toilet paper and water which he had in his vehicle. He then took the used papers and burnt it to destroy evidence of what had taken place.
She says that back at his car, the man continued to traumatize her by forcing her to expose herself to him while he took pictures of her nude body.
Afterwards, he told her to get dressed, and afterwards struck up a conversation about his licensed weapon.
He then forced her to look at him while he fired his gun to show her that he knew how the shoot. Finally, after she begged him a few more times, he drove her out of the area and back toward Belize City.
The young woman told us that when he was driving her back to Belize City, he offered to buy her pills to take to deal with any possible pregnancy. She says that when they arrived on the Cemetery Road, he received a call, and he slowed the vehicle down. She says that she took the opportunity to jump out, and she ran away toward her aunt's house where she told them about what she'd endured. She then went with her family to the police station to make a report against the man.
She adds that she is worried that there are several factors which will cause this case to be buried, and that she won't get justice. First, the doctor hasn't found signs of trauma or that she was sexually assaulted. That, she tells us, is easily explained because she didn't resist because she thought he was going to hurt her. Additionally, she has 1 year-old baby, and a boyfriend - so she is sexually active.
Next, she says that this man claims to be well-connected in the court system, and that if any charge is brought against him, he can ensure that the case gets thrown out.
We spoke with the commander of police station who's handling the case, and he told us that the man being accused has visited the police station in the presence of his lawyer, and he was interviewed.
We did speak with the accused today, and after claiming no knowledge whatsoever of any complaint, charge, or incident, he accused us of trying to railroad him and hung up the phone.
We'll keep following the case.
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