Belize City Taxi Driver Fined After Woman Assaulted During Domestic Dispute

A sixty-year-old Belize City taxi driver has been fined after pleading guilty to wounding a woman during a domestic dispute that reportedly began after she refused his request for sex.

George Cattouse appeared before a Magistrate late Friday evening, where he admitted to a single charge of wounding stemming from an incident reported earlier this month.  According to police, the woman told investigators that shortly after midnight on Wednesday, May 12, she was socializing with Cattouse inside her home when he allegedly asked her for sex. The complainant reported that after she refused, Cattouse locked the door and assaulted her. She told police he punched her to the face, right eye, and left side of her forehead before leaving the residence. The woman later called police and was issued a medico-legal form. Her injuries were classified as wounding.  Cattouse, of Cedar Street, pleaded guilty to the charge and asked the court for leniency. He told the court that he had been in an on-and-off relationship with the woman for years and admitted that both of them had been drinking at the time of the incident. He also claimed that the woman damaged his vehicle and windshield, but indicated that he did not intend to pursue any complaint against her.  In handing down sentence, the Magistrate considered the injuries sustained by the complainant and the domestic nature of the incident. The court applied sentencing discounts, including consideration for Cattouse’s early guilty plea, reducing the initial penalty to a final fine of eight hundred dollars, plus five dollars in court costs.  He was given until September 30 to pay the fine. In default, he faces six months imprisonment.