Kidnapper of Five-Year-Old Girl Sentenced to 18 Years

A convicted prisoner has been sentenced to 18 years and eight months imprisonment for the kidnapping of a five-year-old girl, in a case the court described as extremely serious due to the age and vulnerability of the victim and the offender’s prior criminal history involving a child.  This afternoon, Justice Nigel Pilgrim handed down sentence against Kareem Hamilton, who pleaded guilty to kidnapping, an offense that carries a minimum mandatory sentence of 15 years and can extend to life imprisonment under Belize law. While Hamilton did not receive a life sentence, the court imposed a lengthy custodial term after carefully weighing aggravating and mitigating factors.  Justice Pilgrim ruled that Hamilton’s sentence for kidnapping will take effect on August 31, 2026, when he completes a separate four-year prison sentence for an unrelated conviction of an unnatural crime against another child. The judge found that prior conviction to be a serious aggravating factor, even though it was not directly related to the present case.  In outlining his reasoning, Justice Pilgrim explained that he adopted a starting point of 16 years, one year above the mandatory minimum. He then increased the sentence by six years due to the culpability of the offender, the tender age of the victim, and the circumstances of the offense. The court noted that the child was taken from the safety of her family yard, in the presence of another minor, aged seven, and that Hamilton attempted to flee and initially refused to release the child, even when confronted by the child’s mother.  These factors brought the sentence to 22 years. A small reduction was applied after the court found that the act was not pre-planned, resulting in a deduction of six months.  Further aggravation was then applied following consideration of Hamilton’s Social Inquiry Report, which indicated multiple risk factors and expressed concerns about the likelihood of reoffending. The court treated this with caution but found it significant, particularly in light of Hamilton’s previous conviction involving a child. As a result, the sentence was increased to 26 years.  In mitigation, Justice Pilgrim acknowledged that Hamilton expressed remorse and a willingness to rehabilitate, including openly acknowledging troubling thoughts rather than concealing them. For this, the court applied a five-year reduction, bringing the sentence down to 21 years. An additional reduction was granted for Hamilton’s early guilty plea, though the court limited the discount to 10 percent, rather than the usual one-third, noting that while the plea spared the child from testifying, the seriousness of the offense warranted a restrained reduction.  After crediting 65 days spent on remand, Hamilton’s final sentence for kidnapping was set at 18 years and eight months.  Justice Pilgrim also ordered that Hamilton undergo counselling and psychiatric treatment while incarcerated at the Kolbe Foundation, after Hamilton consented to such treatment. The court noted that because kidnapping is not a sexual offense under the charge, counselling could only be ordered with the offender’s agreement.  The offense occurred on May 16, 2024, when the five-year-old girl was playing in her family yard with her seven-year-old friend. Hamilton unlawfully entered the yard, took the child without permission, and walked away with her. The child’s mother pursued him after being alerted and confronted Hamilton several houses away. Despite his claim that the child was his niece, neighbours intervened, the child was recovered, and Hamilton was detained by police shortly thereafter.