Photo: Mervin Budram, arraigned
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Nov. 6, 2023
On Monday, November 6, 2023, three months after he was named in a series of sexual assault allegations by several female minors, Belmopan youth leader Mervin Budram was arraigned in the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court for 13 counts of aggravated assault of an indecent nature. The incidents reportedly occurred during the period between 2004 and 2014.
AMANDALA was able to confirm that Budram was detained on Friday and spent the wet weekend locked away inside the Belmopan Police Station’s cellblock. He was eventually charged on Sunday and was quietly taken over to the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court on Monday where he was arraigned, without a word to the media or even his victims.
The once famous youth leader pleaded not guilty to the charges and was released on a bail of $6,000 plus two sureties of the same amount. Our sources say that while several victims had come forward to say that Budram had sexually assaulted them when they were minors, only two young women had filed official charges against Budram, thereby leading to the charges against him.
At the end of last week, one of the individuals who said Budram had victimized her reached out to AMANDALA to express her concerns about the notable delay in charges against Budram, and whether after 19 years she would finally be able to get justice.
“I feel like they are my only hope of ever getting justice, as I do not have the financial ability to file a personal lawsuit against him. The DPP and the Belizean justice system is my only chance of ever getting the justice that I deserve,” she said.
At the time, the victim said that she was getting discouraged more every day, since from the end of August 2023 she was told that a directive would have been issued for Budram to be jailed and charged.
According to information we have also received from the families of another individual who says Budram victimized her, he was to be detained and charged on October 26th. However, on the following day, Budram’s attorney requested that charges against him be withheld and rescheduled for the following week since he, the attorney, had a family emergency to attend to.
While that was agreed to, indications at the time were that Budram was to be charged the following week, which should have been November 1st.
At the beginning of August, Budram became the subject of one of the most explosive sexual assault investigations coming out of the church in Belize. Budram, who is a well-known and respected worship leader with Jubilee Ministries in Belmopan, is being accused of using his status to prey on female minors.
One woman, identified as Rebecca Stirm Lennan, was the first to set the wheels of justice in motion when she released an explosive testimony on her personal social media page alleging that 19 years ago, when she was only 11 years old, Budram had sexually assaulted her. Lennan’s testimony prompted several other women to come forward to allege that Budram had also sexually assaulted them when they were minors.
While at least two of the victims had indicated their desire to file charges against Budram it is still unknown whether the others had indicated if they wished to pursue legal justice against the former worship leader. Budram has since been expelled from his ministry.
Budram is being represented by attorney Arthur Saldivar.