Police Constable Sentenced to Over 21 Years in Prison for Sexual Offences Against Minor

Police Constable Dexter Diego has been sentenced to twenty-one years, eight months and seven days in prison after pleading guilty to four counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. Justice Nigel Pilgrim handed down the sentences yesterday in Belize City.  The longest sentence relates to an offence committed when the child was thirteen. Diego received an additional sentence of five years and seven days on each of three other counts, involving the same child when she was fourteen. All four sentences will run concurrently, meaning he will serve the longest term.  In determining the punishment, Justice Pilgrim considered the abuse of trust and Diego’s position as a serving police officer. The court also heard that the sexual abuse occurred on multiple occasions in one night.  An affidavit from Diego’s superior, Bradford Berry, described earlier concerns about inappropriate remarks Diego had made to young girls while in uniform. According to the court report, Diego had been warned about that behaviour.  Diego pleaded guilty on July 27, the day his trial was scheduled to begin. He was represented by attorney Leslie Hamilton. The court applied a one-third reduction for his guilty plea and credited him with one hundred, and fifteen days previously spent on remand. The sentences were ordered to take effect from July 27, 2026.  Justice Pilgrim also ordered mandatory counselling and psychiatric treatment during Diego’s incarceration.