Chief Magistrate Reserves Ruling on Noralez Stay Application

The Chief Magistrate has reserved her decision until March 24 on an application for a stay of execution filed on behalf of convicted teacher Alex Jason Noralez.  47-year-old, Noralez of the Boca Del Rio area of San Pedro, was found guilty on January 21 of two of three counts of sexual assault involving two minor high school students. He was later sentenced on January 27 to two terms of eighteen months’ imprisonment.  Today, prominent Senior Counsel Richard “Dickie” Bradley appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court seeking a stay of execution, arguing that Noralez has strong prospects of successfully appealing his conviction and should be granted bail pending the outcome of that appeal.  When the matter was called shortly after ten-forty-five this morning, the Chief Magistrate ordered the hearing to be held in closed court, barring the media from observing the proceedings.  After the roughly hour-long hearing concluded, Bradley spoke with reporters and explained the legal meaning of a stay of execution.

Bradley emphasized that every citizen has a constitutional right to appeal and indicated that Noralez’s family remains hopeful he will be granted bail, citing ongoing health concerns and his more than two decades in the teaching profession.  The Crown, represented by a police prosecutor, opposed the application and made several submissions for the court’s consideration.  Noralez was acquitted on the third count of sexual assault, which involved a separate allegation concerning a first-form student. During the trial, he denied all allegations, stating he only hugged the students and that the hugs carried no sexual intent.