SAN IGNACIO, Cayo District, Thurs. Mar. 7, 2019– In a shocking case of human trafficking, a mother has been charged after she reportedly prostituted her 14-year-old daughter to a 23-year-old man.

According to police, the mother, 49, of San Ignacio Town, was charged for the crime of procuring a child for sexual exploitation. The woman reportedly allowed the man, Jeffery Perez, also of San Ignacio, to have sex with her daughter in exchange for food.

Perez was also charged for the crime of child prostitution. The charges stem from an incident that reportedly occurred in late 2017.

The two accused persons were arrested on Monday after an investigation conducted by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit in Cayo, and they appeared in the San Ignacio Magistrate’s Court in front of Magistrate Ladona John, on Tuesday. They were remanded at the Belize Central Prison until the next court hearing on May 6.