A jury of 6 women and 3 men today decided the fate of a police constable accused of carnal knowledge. 25-year-old Wilbert Lanza appeared before Justice Adolph Lucas today for the completion of his trial of carnal knowledge.
In a sworn testimony, Lanza claimed that on the night of June 6th of 2005 he had gone to a house in which he was staying in Caye Caulker. Just a couple of minutes after he arrived home a woman police constable came calling at his door. When he answered, he turned on the light inside the room to discover a 13-year-old girl inside the house. Lanza had been arrested and charged with carnal knowledge as medical examinations certified that the girl was sexually active.
That's the case that was put to the jury and after just over three hours of deliberations the jury voted 7 to 2 to find Lanza not guilty. We spoke to him as he took his first steps to freedom.
Wilbert Lanza, Acquitted
"Well this clearly tells you that the police officer were doing their job and..."
Alfonso Noble
Are you satisfied with the way the entire process went?
Wilbert Lanza,
"Of course. It was a fair trial whereby the prosecutor had his point of view and I defended myself and I had my own point of view and well the court decided I am not guilty."
Alfonso Noble,
Are you going to be going back to the police? What are you plans?
Wilbert Lanza,
"That is personal, I'll keep that to myself. Thank you."
