Belize City businessman Bert Vasquez, 28, will stand trial for the alleged forcible abduction of a female minor, 16, in May of 2011 on Cemetery Road near the Pound Yard Bridge.
Vasquez, residing on North Front Street, is accused of physically and sexually assaulting the minor beginning at around 8:05 p.m. on May 13, 2011, when he accosted her at the bus stop in a four-door car with tinted windows and forced her into his vehicle at the point of a .38 revolver.
He reportedly then took her to the Vista del Mar area of Ladyville, just outside of Belize City, where the assault took place. The young woman sustained injuries to her nose from being struck with the gun.
In the #5 Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday, February 22, Magistrate Hettie Mae Stewart committed the case to the April 2012 session of the Supreme Court, as it is an indictable offence and subject to a preliminary inquiry which was completed on Wednesday.
Vasquez was ordered to present himself at the Court pending trial, and made bail of $5,000 and a surety.
His accuser was also present in court, where she signed a document confirming her intent to participate in the case against Vasquez.