When she said she was 17, he took her at her word and now a Belize City man faces serious, jail-able offences for that error in judgement. 18-year-old Shane Vargas, who works as a disc jockey in Caye Caulker, is facing two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge, and one count of grievous harm.
The girl, a Lord's Bank resident, who is 13 years old reported to police that Vargas had sexual relations with her in November and December, first at his home and then at a friend's home. After the second encounter on December 27, the child's mother took her to a pediatrician who classified the injuries to her genital area as grievous.
Today in court, Vargas told the magistrate that the girl told him she was 17 and he believed her because she looked older than even that. If the case goes through, he'll have to take that story to the Supreme Court because it is an indictable matter. For the time being, Vargas is out on a $4,000 bail and must reappear on the sixth of next month.
