Farm Worker Accused of Raping Child, Remanded to Prison  

A twenty-one-year-old maintenance worker from Rancho Dolores is behind bars tonight, accused of a horrifying crime. Keon Alex Belisle is on remand at the Belize Central Prison after being arraigned earlier today for the rape of a child. Belisle appeared unrepresented in the lower court this morning, where a Senior Magistrate read him a single charge, rape of a child. The allegation is that he sexually assaulted a five-year-old boy. The alleged incident happened on Monday in a rural part of the Belize District. According to police, Belisle, who worked on the child’s family farm, took the boy to a pasture and forced him to perform a sexual act. A witness reportedly shouted at the suspect, causing him to flee the scene. The message from the bench was firm: this is an indictable offense, meaning it will be tried at the High Court. No plea was taken, and because of the severity of the charge, bail was denied. Belisle has been remanded until September twenty-fifth. Police say the investigation is ongoing, and the community is understandably shaken. We’ll continue to follow this case closely and bring you updates as they become available.