CAYO DISTRICT, Thurs. Oct. 1, 2015–A 21-year-old man and his 26-year-old cousin are in police custody pending charges of rape and abetment to rape in respect of a 13-year-old Guatemalan girl, say police.

   According to information given to police by the child and her mother, her brother, 21, took her to their cousin, 26, for sexual purposes on two separate occasions.

       Police took the child to a doctor, who conducted an examination that revealed that she had been carnally known. Police immediately arrested her brother and her cousin for the offenses.

        The incidents allegedly occurred on September 4 and 5 at the child’s home.

        According to a police sitrep of Wednesday, September 30, 2015, the child reported that on September 3, at about 6:00 p.m., she was approached by her brother and told to have sex with their cousin, who lives in the same house.

       The child told police that she refused.

       But around midnight on September 4, her brother woke her up, took her to her cousin’s room, handed her over to him and left. The cousin reportedly then raped her. After the ordeal the girl then went back to her room.

       On the following night, September 5, at about 11:00 p.m., her brother again took her to her cousin’s room, where the cousin again raped her, she told police.

       According to Superintendent Andrew Ramirez, Commander of San Ignacio Police, on Sunday, September 6, the child’s father found her in bed with the cousin. Her mother questioned her about the situation, and at that point she admitted to being raped twice by her cousin.

    The mother and the child then reported the matter to police.

    According to Section 48, Subsection 1 of the Substantive Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000 every person who carnally knows a girl under the age of 14 years with or without her consent shall on conviction on indictment be imprisoned for a term of no less than 12 years, but which may be extended to life imprisonment.

     A subsection of Section 48, added by Act 36 of 99, which was brought into force September 24, 1999 under the Mandatory Life Sentence for habitual sexual offenders, states that if a person is found guilty of the offense of rape or carnal knowledge of a female child under the age of 14, on two or more occasions, he shall be sentenced to a mandatory term of life imprisonment.

   It is not known, at this time, if anyone has ever been sentenced to life imprisonment for rape of a person, of whatever age.