San Pedro Community Detains Man for Alleged Child Sexual Harassment: National Women’s Commission Applauds Civic Action

The National Women’s Commission has commended San Pedro residents for assisting in the detention of a man who allegedly sexually harassed an eight-year-old girl. On Sunday, the child’s mother sent her to the store to buy, but she came back five minutes later. Distraught and in tears, the child told her mother that a man had kissed her on the forehead, on the cheek, and her left hand, then asked her to come with him. The woman went to the store where she found the assailant and hit him in the face. The man apologized to her several times before running away. That’s when a group of bystanders chased him down and tied him up. They held on to him until the police arrived. Executive Director of the Commission, Elanore Murillo, says that actions like those taken by the San Pedro residents will bring about real change, as Belize strives to address gender-based violence. 

Eleanor Murillo, Executive Director, National Women’s Commission: “We cannot continue to normalize violence. It’s a crime and we should not be normalizing it and you should reach out to the organizations who provide service for victims and survivors of gender based violence. And even if you see something speak up. We cannot continue to have that as a silent killer in our country and it’s all over the place. That is one of the areas that we continue to work diligently on. We really want to see cases decrease, we want to see behavior change within our society the way we think about violence that its a private matter, that it’s okay, we have normalized it. Sexual harassment is no joke and we have a lot of laws, a lot of changes within our laws and so people need to educate themselves so that they can utilize the systems, the policies, the laws that are in place to protect them. I am very happy that the community bonded together to detain that perpetrator. So I was happy that t didn’t go and people just turned a blind eye. I am happy that number one the little girl spoke out and told her mother what happened to her because many a times victims stay silent because of fear, of shame or the blaming to say “oh you caused that.” Or “you did something why the man did that.” So I  was happy that the girl reported it to her mom, I am happy that the mom reacted right away and dealt with it and I’m happy that the community also did their part in detaining that person.”

The man has since been identified as twenty-three-year-old construction worker, Mario Choco. Police have detained Choco pending charges