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Jury: Bert Vasquez Is Guilty
posted (July 11, 2017)
When we left you last night a jury was deliberating the fate of Bert Vasquez. Well, after two hours, the jury of 7 men and 2 women unanimously found the 33 year old guilty of forcible abduction and aggravated assault of an indecent nature. He returns to court next week Friday July 21st for sentencing.

It's the first conviction for the alleged girl killer and a major setback for his defense team. The victory is equally significant for prosecutor, Crown Counsel Sherigne Rodriguez who told us about the case today:...

Sherigne Rodriguez, Crown Counsel - DPP's Office
"The reaction I had was that justice was served. The jury came to the right conclusion and based on the evidence presented to them."

Reporter
"What were some of the key elements of the case having gone through, combed through it yourself and how were you able to establish that the offence was committed?"

Sherigne Rodriguez, Crown Counsel - DPP's Office
"Well since the complainant was the only witness that we had who could say what happened, the evidence presented mainly came from her. She took pictures immediately after the ordeal and those were telling as well as she provide some consistency to her evidence because shortly after she also reported what had occurred to a friend that was in the neighborhood that she emerged from and that prove that her story is consistent. That neighbor gave a statement that outlined what she saw when the complainant presented herself to her. She saw her in a very shaken up, trembling, crying, her clothes were torn. She was battered and bruised. So that statement assisted in showing that the virtual complainant is being consistent when she said that she was abducted and beaten and it showed."

Reporter
"Sometimes victims change their minds last minute. They refuse to show up for court and when they do, sometimes they tell the judge that listen I don't want to continue with this case."

Sherigne Rodriguez, Crown Counsel - DPP's Office
"The virtual complainant was willing and she was braved and willing to come forward."

As we told you last night, Vasquez is accused of abducting a girl, who was just 16 at the time. Now 22, she testified in court that Vasquez picked her up at the bus stop, took her by gunpoint, and sexually assaulted and humiliated her. As you heard the chief prosecutor say, her testimony was key to successfully convicting Vasquez, and she was willing to face her attacker in court to recount her ordeal. Back in 2012, one year after the incident, she did much the same when she told Monica Bodden what she endured. She asked to appear off camera and we warn you the content of her narrative is of an adult nature:...

FILE: June 22, 2012
Voice Of: Minor - Victim
"I went by the bus stop, and I was going to catch the bus to come home to Ladyville. I noticed a grey, tinted Kia, which stopped in front of me. A tall man came out from the car, and stood up beside me. He was wearing a black T-shirt and blue long jeans. He stood up beside me, and I started to come closer and closer to me. The next thing I knew he put a gun against me and told me if I screamed, he would shoot me. He ordered me to get into the car. I was scared, but I got into the car with him. He stopped at a gas station first, put in gas by Vernon Street. He told me to put my hands between my legs, and I must put my head between legs also. He drove all the way up to Vista Del Mar, where he started hitting me with the gun and with his hand. He broke my nose, and my tooth. My face was a mess. Afterwards, he told me that if I won't give him sex, then he would take it. He said he loved me."

Monica Bodden
"He said that he loved you, but you had no idea who this man was."

Voice Of: Minor - Victim
"No, I had no idea who this man was. It was the first time in my life that I saw this guy. The whole ride up, when he was driving from Belize to Ladyville, he was talking to me like a normal person. He was asking me questions like what my color was, what I did for fun. It's like he knew me for a long time, but it's the first time I saw this guy. Afterwards, when he told me that I had to give it to him, that's when we started to struggle because I scratched him in his face. He was hitting me, and I was scratching and kicking him off of me. That's when he took the gun, put it to my head, and he clicked it several time. But, the gun didn't go off. The feel I got was that I was going to die. So afterwards, he told me to come over to the passenger's seat, where he was sitting. He told me that I had to do oral sex. He forced me to do it; I had to. Afterwards, he started touching me, massaging my breast and my - yeah. He started to take off my pants, but that's when we started struggling again. I was trying to talk to him, but every time I tried to reason with him, he hit me. He hit me in the face to the point where I felt that one more hit, and I would die. At one point, he told to get out of his car, turn my back to the car, and when he said, 'Run', that I should. He gave me back my shoes, my blouse, and he gave me back my stuff, but he took my phone. He didn't leave me with it. He told to get out of his car, turn my back to the car, and when he said, 'Run', that I should. He asked me if he was making himself clear. I told him, 'yes'. I got out. He told me not to look at the car, and not to look where the car was going. When he said run, I just ran. I ran; I didn't have any shirt or shoes on. My face was bleeding. I ran and ran. I did not know where I was. Someone picked me up; a woman took me to the police station."

Vasquez is still pending trial for the 2012 murder of Jasmine Lowe. We'll tell you about his sentencing next Friday. Vasquez's attorney, Oscar Selgado, is preparing a mitigation plea.

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