_{Photo: Devain Flores}

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Tues. June 11, 2024

This morning, Tuesday, June 11, the sentencing hearing for 33-year-old Devain Flores of Neal Pen Road, Belize City, who was charged for brutally beating his stepson, was held at the Magistrate’s Court in Belize City. At that hearing, Flores was sentenced to serve time in prison for two counts of Cruelty to a Child.

Flores, who was caught on camera on two separate occasions physically harming his 3-year-old stepson on an unknown date, first appeared in court on May 22, when he pleaded guilty to the offense. During that first court appearance, the magistrate allowed Flores to present four character witnesses to speak on his behalf, with the possibility that his sentence could be reduced depending on any mitigating factors those witnesses could share with the court.

But in his second appearance in court on June 3, those persons failed to show up and more time was allowed for them to appear in court. In court today, those witnesses never made an appearance, thus prompting the magistrate to proceed with Flores’ sentencing.

Flores was sentenced to two 12-month prison terms which will run concurrently. Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams acted as prosecutor of the case and said he is pleased with the results.

“I am satisfied that the court imposed the maximum sentence of 12 months,” he said. “I wish they had run consecutively; but instead, the magistrate chose to have them run concurrently, so he will only serve 12 months instead of 24 months. But in terms of the magistrate imposing the maximum sentence on both counts of 12 months each, I think that the punishment [does] fit the crime. The child who has been abused and his parents can now feel at ease that the perpetrator will be behind bars,” Williams added.

“The magistrate was extremely clear in her assessment of the matter, in terms of saying that we must send a strong message to persons who have care of children, that as a society we must protect our future, our children, and if we don’t do what we can now to protect them, then who is going to do so? I think the magistrate was very clear in that as well,” he went on to say.