When 64 year old Estella Gonzalez was convicted of human trafficking in February, she became Belize's first conviction for that widespread offence.
When she went to court for sentencing, her attorneys asked for leniency citing Gonzalez's multiple health problems. The judge agreed to fine her 75 thousand dollars, and not confine her to prison.
Today we spoke to CEO in the Ministry of Human Development Judith Alpuche, who said she was aghast when she learnt about the court ruling on Estella Gonzalez.
Judith Alpuche, CEO, Min. of Human Development
"We're very disappointed, because this was a hard fact case. We certainly from our perspective know the pain and the suffering that this young woman went through. She was incredibly brave in ensuring that she was a witness that sat on the stand for many days in search of justice, in helping others to get that conviction."
Emanuel Pech
"Do you think justice was served out in this case seeing that she wasn't jailed, she was fined?"
Judith Alpuche, CEO, Min. of Human Development
"Well we certainly would have preferred to see a custodial sentence to send the message very clearly that this is an incredibly serious offence. This is slavery. You have used a human being for your own benefit and so we certainly would have wanted to see a custodial sentence."
The female in question was a 15 year old minor who claimed that she was tricked by Gonzalez and taken to Temptation Bar to have sex with men against her will for $25 dollars.
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