by Roy Davis (freelance reporter)

BELIZE CITY, Wed. May 24, 2023

Cyril Casimiro, 43, a former police constable who was convicted of rape of a child, was sentenced to 15 years of imprisonment today by Justice Antoinette Moore.

Before she decided on the sentence, Justice Moore heard a plea for mitigation from Casimiro. He said that he was sorry for what he did, and he had served the government as a police officer for 19 years. He then asked for leniency.

Justice Moore told him, however, that as a police officer he should have known what the repercussions would have been. She also told him that he had committed a brutal crime because the child, who was 14 years old at the time, was bleeding and she had to undergo surgery due to the injuries she received as a result of the assault.

She said that the aggravating factors far outweighed the mitigating factors and that when crimes like these take place, there are adverse, long-term effects not only for the victim, but also the society on a whole. She also said that although the child is now an adult, she is still traumatized by what had happened to her.

She told Casimiro that the prison does not have a program for sex offenders, but she expressed hopes that he would take advantage of the other programs that are available.

Casimiro was found guilty on March 14 in the High Court in Corozal Town of raping the 14-year-old.

The incident occurred in April, 2015, in Corozal Town. The child testified that she was walking home when Casimiro, who was in his uniform and was driving a police motorcycle, stopped and offered to give her a ride home. But instead of taking her home, Casimiro took her to a remote beach area on Consejo Road and raped her. Casimiro, in his testimony in court, denied that he committed the offence. But the evidence against him was overwhelming and he was found guilty.

Casimiro was represented by attorney Oscar Selgado.

The Crown was represented by Crown Counsel Javier Chan.