BELIZE CITY, Wed. July 9, 2025

Tonight, a man from the Saint Martin De Porres area is on remand at the Belize Central Prison following his arraignment for rape, after being accused of forcing a woman to have sex with him whilst inside a car.

He is 21-year-old Antwan Petillo, a bodyworks man of Jasmine Street, Belize City.

This morning at around 9:00, Petillo was brought over to court in the prison van, and around 10:00 a.m. he was escorted into Court #2, where he appeared unrepresented before Magistrate Ludlow Black.

Petillo was read a single charge of rape. Due to the nature of the offense, no plea was taken from Petillo; and also due to the nature of the offense, bail was denied and he was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until September 2, 2025.

It is alleged that on around 2:30 on Saturday morning, July 5, 2025, Petillo raped a Belize City woman whilst they were inside a car at the corner 9th Street and Newtown Barracks, Belize City.

The woman, who reported the incident to police that same day, said that she had gone to Shisha’s Club along with her friends to socialize, and while there she met Petillo, an acquaintance of hers, who approached her and asked her to go for a walk with him.

According to the woman, they both left the night club and walked to the corner of 9th Street and Newtown Barracks, where a vehicle was parked, and both of them went inside of the vehicle, where, according to the woman, Petillo raped her.

Petillo is due back in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court on September 2, 2025.