Belize City resident Fitz Harris Howard is behind bars at the Belize Central Prison tonight after Supreme Court Justice Sandcroft charged him with the rape of a 15-year-old minor.
The rape in question is said to have taken place on January 9th sometime around 8:00 p.m.. That's when Howard offered the minor a ride in his pickup truck promising to help her run a family errand. Instead, according to the minor's account, he took her to a deserted area of Chetumal Boulevard where he raped her.
But today in court Howard and his Attorney Oscar Selgado argued that while Howard had offered the girl a ride he only made one additional stop to take care of some business of his own before promptly taking her home. He denies having sex with the alleged victim.
Howard was out on Supreme Court bail up until today when he was found guilty of rape.
Howard's case which yielded the first conviction in this session of the supreme court
is being tried under new legislation in a trial by a judge without a jury.
