By Breaking Belize News Staff: High Court Justice Candace Nanton today sentenced 31-year-old Belize Defence Force (BDF) volunteer soldier Mark Anthony Nolberto to 17 years, 10 months, and 3 weeks in prison following his conviction on two counts of rape against a 17-year-old girl.
Justice Nanton ordered that the sentences for both counts run concurrently. In addition to his prison term, Nolberto must undergo counseling as well as medical and psychiatric treatment while incarcerated. Upon his release, he will be legally required to report his residential address to the Commissioner of Police and the Department of Human Development.
The convictions stem from an incident where Nolberto struck the minor with a metal cup, forced her into his residence, subjected her to physical and sexual assault, and recorded the act on his mobile phone—video footage that was later extracted by police and presented as evidence in court.
In delivering the sentence, Justice Nanton classified the harm as severe and noted the high degree of offender culpability, pointing to the victim’s age, the violent nature of the attack, and Nolberto’s lack of remorse throughout the trial. Starting from a 19-year baseline, the judge deducted two years for Nolberto’s prior lack of a criminal record and community service, added one year to reflect the overall severity of the crime, and credited 40 days for time served on remand.
Defense attorney Orson “OJ” Elrington had requested a suspended sentence, but Justice Nanton rejected the plea, citing statutory laws that restrict suspended sentences to offenses carrying maximum terms of three years or less. Under Belizean law, rape carries a mandatory minimum sentence of eight years in prison up to life imprisonment. The prosecution was led by Crown Counsel Joseph Perez.
Following the sentencing, Nolberto maintained his innocence as he was escorted from the High Court, telling reporters that he refused to cover his face because he believed the conviction was “unjust.”
The post BDF volunteer soldier Mark Nolberto sentenced to nearly 18 Years for raping 17-year-old girl and videoing it; Says his sentence is ‘unjust’ appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.
By Breaking Belize News Staff: High Court Justice Candace Nanton today sentenced 31-year-old Belize Defence Force (BDF) volunteer soldier Mark Anthony Nolberto to 17 years, 10 months, and 3 weeks in prison following his conviction on two counts of rape against a 17-year-old girl. Justice Nanton ordered that the sentences for both counts run concurrently.
The post BDF volunteer soldier Mark Nolberto sentenced to nearly 18 Years for raping 17-year-old girl and videoing it; Says his sentence is ‘unjust’ appeared first on Belize News and Opinion on www.breakingbelizenews.com.