BELIZE CITY, Fri. Dec. 8, 2023
Tonight, a former GoB First Class Clerk, June Juliet Belisle, who pleaded guilty to theft for stealing $91,639.58 from the Government of Belize, is lucky to have been spared a jail sentence for now — receiving instead a suspended 2-year sentence and a fine of $5,000, which she must pay in compensation to GOB.
This morning at around 8:58, Belisle, who has been out on bail of $25,000, walked to court without a police escort.
Inside the courtroom of Justice Nigel Pilgrim, Belisle, in the presence of her attorney, was handed down a suspended sentence of 2 years, which means that she will only go to jail if she has any run-ins with the law over a three-year period (by order of Justice Pilgrim).
Justice Pilgrim also ordered her to pay $5,000 to the Government of Belize in compensation for the much larger amount that she stole.
Yesterday, while presenting her mitigation plea in the High Court, a process which was done virtually, Belisle expressed remorse after explaining that the discovery of her actions has left her jobless.
Belisle told the court, “I just want to give my sincere apologies for what I was arrested for, and I want to ask you, as you make your judgment, if you could have leniency on me, since I have no job right now, so it will be tough on me to pay back a fine or whatever judgement you will hand down on me; but I am really and truly sorry.”
Her two character witnesses, who spoke on behalf of Belisle, were Thomas George Morrison, 63, an architect working out of Belize City; and Abigail Elizabeth Hoare, 45, her former classmate/schoolmate and best friend for 30 years.
Their good character description of Belisle was what Justice Pilgrim said impressed him, and in a comment he stated, “The witnesses had made a profound impact on the court,” and for that reason he chose to not send her to jail.
The first-time offender was accused of stealing almost $100,000 in cash from the Belize Treasury Department.
According to the agreed facts in court, Belisle told several single mothers that there was a financial assistance program for single parents, and that the monies would be deposited into their bank accounts every end of the month, and whenever the monies were deposited, they were to keep a small portion of it, then give her the rest of the money.
Belisle then entered their names into the Smart Stream System as if the single parents were teachers hired by the government.
The amount of money in total netted by Belisle from October 31, 2019 to October 11, 2020 was $91,639.58.
Belisle had confessed to the theft, and in a caution statement she gave police, she attributed her actions to the financial strain she was experiencing at the time.
It was on Wednesday, November 3, 2023 that Belisle, in the presence of her attorney, Ronell Gonzalez, entered a plea of guilty and spared herself and the court a trial.