_{Photo: Video footage of man abusing child}

Security camera catches a man assaulting a child … twice!

by Charles Gladden

BELIZE CITY, Mon. May, 20, 2024

A disturbing video that is circulating throughout social media has leaked, and it illustrates acts of child abuse by a man toward a young boy who appears to be no more than 6 years old.

The exact date of the video has yet to be determined, but the surroundings within the video have viewers believing the act was done in the Gungulung area of Belize City. The video was sliced into two parts. The first part shows the man on board a motorcycle with the child; then he removed the child and proceeded to strike and kick him, with the child’s mother coming to intervene.

The second part shows the man cleaning the said motorcycle with the child bringing something toward him. The man begins to have a conversation with the child, before striking him across the head; and he does this repeatedly until the video ends.

ACP Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander of the Belize Police Department Eastern Division, noted to reporters that the department has seen the video and an investigation is ongoing for charges to be pressed on the man, whose identity has not yet been revealed to the public,

According to a report from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), there has been an increase in violence toward children between the ages of 5 and 15 years old since the year began, with the child victims experiencing neglect, harm, sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation.

“The impact of traumatic experiences ripples through the lives of children and ultimately affects Belize’s development. Physical and emotional reactions persist long after the event, and without adequate psycho-social support, the effects on the psyche of a child are indelible,” the report said. “Consequently, when our society loses children, not only do we grieve the loss of a precious life, but we also forfeit their infinite potential, impeding Belize’s maximum growth and development. We cannot allow such heinous violations against children to become the norm,” it added.

UNICEF mentioned that this year marks the 35th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and that Belize is the fifth nation to sign the CRC, pledging to the vision of a world fit for children through the realization of their rights.