By Breaking Belize News Staff: Kareem Hamilton, a man described by the court as a high-risk offender with “predatory thoughts” toward children, has been sentenced to 18 years and 8 months in prison for the 2024 kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl.
The sentence, handed down by Justice Nigel Pilgrim, will run consecutively to a current prison term Hamilton is serving. This means Hamilton will only begin his 18-year sentence on August 31, 2026, after he completes a four-year term for an “unnatural crime” committed against another child.
The incident occurred on May 16, 2024. The victim, a 5-year-old girl, was playing with a 7-year-old friend in the safety of her family’s yard when Hamilton entered without permission and snatched her.
When the girl’s mother was alerted and gave chase, she found Hamilton several houses away. Despite being confronted, Hamilton refused to release the child, falsely claiming she was his niece. It was only after neighbors intervened that the “extremely frightened” child was rescued and Hamilton was restrained while attempting to flee.
Justice Pilgrim established a starting point of 16 years—one year above the mandatory minimum for kidnapping. The sentence saw significant “uplifts” due to several aggravating factors:
- Vulnerability: The victim was only five years old and taken from her own home.
- Criminal History: Hamilton is a repeat offender against children.
- Social Inquiry Report (SIR): A Community Rehabilitation Officer warned that Hamilton remains at a “high risk” of reoffending, noting that he expressed disturbing sexual thoughts toward minors during his assessment.
While the sentence reached as high as 26 years during the deliberations, Justice Pilgrim applied a 10% discount for Hamilton’s early guilty plea. Although a 1/3 discount is standard, the judge opted for the lower end of the scale given the severity of the risk Hamilton poses to society.
Because Hamilton’s current conviction for kidnapping is not technically a sex offense, the court could not legally mandate sex-offender counseling without his consent. However, Hamilton agreed to the court’s suggestion to undergo treatment.
Justice Pilgrim subsequently ordered that Hamilton must undergo mandatory psychiatric treatment and professional counseling specifically designed for sex offenders while incarcerated at the Kolbe Foundation.
“Children are entitled to feel safe in their home,” Justice Pilgrim noted during the proceedings, emphasizing that the court treats Hamilton’s admitted urges toward children as a “very serious aggravating factor.”
The post ‘Big maniac’ Kareem Hamilton who has sexual fantasies about children and tried to kidnap 5-year-old girl sentenced to 18 years in jail appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: Kareem Hamilton, a man described by the court as a high-risk offender with “predatory thoughts” toward children, has been sentenced to 18 years and 8 months in prison for the 2024 kidnapping of a 5-year-old girl. The sentence, handed down by Justice Nigel Pilgrim, will run consecutively to a current
The post ‘Big maniac’ Kareem Hamilton who has sexual fantasies about children and tried to kidnap 5-year-old girl sentenced to 18 years in jail appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
