A 62-year-old accused sexual predator, a resident of Plues Street, Belize City, got his comeuppance last Thursday night, July 21, when he allegedly tried to rape a 14-year-old youth in San Jose Succotz.
A mother’s protective instinct saved her son, and village residents collared him after the failed attempt, beat him badly and tied him up before handing him over to police.
Reginald Roy Cumberbatch, 62, was charged today in the San Ignacio Magistrate’s court, where a single charge of aggravated assault was read to him. He was offered bail, and is expected to return to court in August.
The disturbing incident reportedly occurred on Thursday, July 21, at around 9:15 p.m., in the village of San Jose Succotz, Cayo District, Mile 72, Western Highway. The story, as told to us by the victim and his mother, is as follows:
The victim’s mother told Amandala that she did not know her son’s attacker personally in the beginning; she had heard his name mentioned when he was delivering a birth certificate for another resident of the village. She happened to need two birth certificates for her two children, so she contacted the man, who told her that he could perform the service for her for $50.
The mother and Cumberbatch then walked, talking until they reached her house at around 7:30 p.m.
There, she gave Cumberbatch the $50.00, along with her personal documents, and, she said, when he was about to leave, he asked her if her teenaged son could walk him, because he did not know the way out. The area is very dark, because there are no lights in the area, and it has been so for the last seven years, despite the villagers pleading for lights to be installed.
“I trusted him, and I called my son, who was in his room, and I asked my son if he could walk him,” said the mother.
But when enough time had passed and her son did not return, the mother became extremely worried.
“Fifteen minutes had gone, and he was not coming back. I felt something in my heart … then I thought, what if he had killed my son? So, I took my daughter in my hands and my other son and I went looking for him, and it was very dark.
“So I continued walking, and far off I saw two shadows, and when I came closer, I saw the man with my son,” said the mother.
According to the mother, what she saw made her sick. She said the man had his pants down, and was holding onto her son’s hand to prevent him from running, while trying to take off his pants.
“On a curve, I saw the man holding my son; I shouted, what you are doing to my son,” said the mother.
She then ran up and snatched her son from the man, and with her daughter in her hand, and her other son, ran down the hill.
She said the man, now identified as Cumberbatch, ran behind her, and that she kept telling him “You are a bad man, and I will report you to the police.”
“He told me that if I reported him to the police, it would be my son who would be in shame,” said the mother.
Upon reaching the bottom of the hill, the mother shouted for help, and help came in the form of a villager, who took her to the police station to file a complaint against Cumberbatch.
While the mother and the teen were away in the town, the attacker hid somewhere behind the village church. But the news of what he had allegedly tried to do spread quickly through the village, and so it happened that as the police were taking down statements, they received a call informing them that the villagers had captured, badly beaten and tied up a man who they allege had been trying to rape a teen.
What had happened, we were told, was that some men had been playing football not too far away, and when they heard the news, they left and began searching for the culprit. Reportedly, nearly 50 villagers joined in the end in beating the boy’s attacker.
We spoke with the teen, who appeared traumatized. Very emotionally, he gave us an account of what had occurred.
According to him, after he and the man had left, the man asked him what school he was attending and offered to sew him a uniform.
The man then took out a measuring tape from his pocket and measured the teen. After that, the man said he would tell him a secret.
The man then asked the teen if he wanted to go to La Puerta Negra in Melchor, Guatemala.
“He asked me if I had a passport, and told me he had two laptops and that he was going to give me one. He also told me that he was going to give me a scholarship,” said the teen.
By this time, the teen and the man had reached the hilltop, and it was there that the man pulled down his pants and then tried to pull down the teen’s pants.
But when the teen refused, the man tightly gripped his hands.
The teen told us that the man then touched him on the penis, making him feel very uncomfortable. He said he tried to run, but the man had him firmly held by the hand. The teen said he could not remember much of the incident because he was in a state of shock.
According to Police Inspector Dinsdale Thompson, police decided to charge Cumberbatch, based on the evidence at the moment from the medical report, with only a single charge — aggravated assault.
The teen told us that he fears that the man would return to harm him, but said he just wanted to let others know that they should not trust anyone, even if they appear to be genuine.
According to the villagers, Cumberbatch is no stranger to the village and had made several visits there to assist those villagers who needed a copy of their birth certificates.
The villagers said they will not condone these repulsive acts by anyone. They are hoping that now, the authorities will listen to their pleas and install proper lighting to deter such criminals from taking advantage of innocent people.