by Roy Davis (freelance reporter)

BELIZE CITY, Wed. Dec. 20, 2023

Rapper Charles Martinez, 32, aka “Matic”, who was convicted of rape of a child, was sentenced to 20 years in prison today by Justice Ricardo Sandcroft. He won’t be eligible for parole until after he has served 15 years.

Before he was sentenced, Martinez showed no signs of remorse. He asked Justice Sandcroft what went wrong with the case, and Justice Sandcroft told him that justice had to be served. Justice Sandcroft pointed out to him that he committed the rape of the child more than once, but he was only indicted for one of the offences.

The incident for which Martinez was found guilty occurred on November 9, 2019.

The child, who was 9 years old at the time, testified in the presence of her mother that when she was alone in her mother’s house, Martinez came and dragged her out of the house to a makeshift outdoor bathroom and forced her to perform oral sex on his person. She said that while he was dragging her, Martinez threatened to kill her if she made any sound.

An eye witness testified to seeing the child perform oral sex on Martinez.

Martinez denied in court that he committed the offense. He said that the child fabricated the story.

But the child’s testimony was so clear and compelling that Martinez’s attorney, Senior Counsel Hubert Elrington, was unable to counter it, and Martinez was found guilty.

Martinez was also represented by attorney Norman Rodriguez.

Crown Counsel Robert Lord represented the Crown.