Narcisa “Nancy” Orellana, 54, of Santa Elena Town, Cayo District, began an eighteen-month sentence in prison after being convicted of attempted trafficking in persons last Tuesday in San Ignacio.
Orellana, who had no legal representation at her trial, was accused in April of 2010 by a minor, 15, resident in Valley of Peace, Cayo District, of recruiting her to work in the sex trade at her house in Santa Elena under cover as a domestic.
They had met at a supermarket in town where the minor was looking for work. The minor alleged that while she was told she would be working at the residence as a maid, when she reported to work she was made a waitress at Orellana’s bar, Sierra Friends, downstairs of her residence.
The minor reported to police that a “client” of Orellana visited the bar while she was working and requested to have sex with her. When she refused, she said, Orellana allegedly tried to coerce her into it by telling her that while she was “young and pretty,” she should grasp the opportunity to be a prostitute.
The minor refused again, and left Orellana’s employ the next day. No mention was made of what happened to the man in question.
The case, which took some 20 months to come to trial, was prosecuted by Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lynn Vidal, and is the first recorded conviction for this offense on Belize’s books.
Orellana faces at least one other charge in relation to separate reports of human trafficking.