BELMOPAN, Belize, CMC – A 43-year-old farmer has been sentenced to 16 years in jail after he was convicted on two counts of raping a 14-year-old child.
Justice Candace Nanton imposed the sentence on Vicente Cerraras, who had been convicted in July and after hearing mitigation pleas from two character witnesses, including his mother and his pastor. The convicted man expressed remorse for his action, admitting his guilt and saying he was sorry for what he did.
Carreras was facing a mandatory sentence of 12 years minimum for each count but was sentenced to two 16-year jail terms.
Justice Nanton said she took into consideration the time spent on remand and ordered that his two sentences run concurrently.
Cerreras was found guilty of the two counts of rape of a child on July 22 this year after DNA evidence linking him to the crime scene.
Despite the DNA results, he had originally denied raping the child on June 27, 2019 and again on August 26, 2019.
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