In April 2022, Belize's senior most diplomat was accused of rape, with the complainant alleging that she was 13 when the abuse started. At that time, Alexis Rosado was arraigned in Belmopan's magistrate court. But the case has since moved to the High Court, and this morning, Rosado was indicted for the charge of rape to which he pleaded not guilty. This time, he was accompanied by his attorney, Richard "Dickie" Bradley. Bradley told us briefly what occurred in court, and when they will be back.
Richard "Dickie" Bradley, Attorney
"The procedure is that when a person is charged for a serious offense it ends up in what we call the High Court. And the word high always distracts me, but it's the High Court not the Supreme Court. So this matter has now come to the high court and the Ambassador has been basically arraigned in the High Court of the country on the allegations that were made against him."
"Following an arraignment, procedurally, the two sides, the defense and the prosecution would ensure that the, what is referred to in the lower courts as a disclosure, here we talk about a deposition that we are all on the same page in terms of what is the deposition which includes statement, exhibits, medical reports, expert reports, whatever it is so that was something that came up today as well and so our side and the prosecution will sort that out between ourselves."
"The charges are that there is one charge of a sexual assault, a charge of rape, and I think they put in an aggravated assault which normally would be dealt with at the magistrate court but rather than having a trial there that will be tried here against the accused person."
"We will return to court on I think the 24th of this month for the preliminary paperwork matters. Bail was nothing excessive, it was a signed bail for I think $10,000 or $8,000."
Though the complainant is now an adult, since she was a minor at the time of the incidents, the court sessions are closed.
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