In light of a recent news article featured in several US news outlets and Belize’s local news Media –LoveFM that shows a US teacher on spring break visiting Belize to have sexual encounters with underage children.

As per WFLA, a local Florida news agency:

Federal authorities busted Thompson after they say he used Facebook to entice two teenage girls, 13 and 15, to have sex with him.

The Belize People’s Front condemns these actions and hereby calls on Belizean Authorities to become more vigilant against these practices. We commend the US authorities on their efforts to protect our women and children, and to have been so swift in capturing this individual.

We call on the Government of Belize to:

• Start investing in technology and manpower that can assist in better tracking and quelling these incidents.

• Start an education and support program for families to learn how to recognize warning signs and deal with them, also how to work with the technology in their homes.

• To institute a full ZERO TOLLERANCE policy to be setup to deal with the Sexual Exploitation of our children as per the call from UNICEF:

“Millions of children throughout the world are being bought and sold like chattel and used as sex slaves,” declared UNICEF

Executive Director Carol Bellamy. “This is an utterly intolerable violation of children’s rights.”

“Zero tolerance means ending the trafficking of children, their sale and barter and imprisonment and torture,” Bellamy

stated. “It means stamping out every horrible facet of the commercial sexual exploitation of children.”

David Wendel Thompson, 48, of Seffner, is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison if convicted.

“Sexual exploitation leaves children with psychological and at times physical scars, and diminishes their hopes of leading a life of dignity,” said UNICEF Executive Director Ann M. Veneman. “No country or region is immune, and there are no innocent bystanders.”

We also like to bring attention to sites that are advertising as a sexual tourist destination and this is exposing not only our people to these kinds of exploitation, as advertised here:

http://www.universalfantasies.com/belize.htm

Sources:

• http://www.wfla.com/story/24997651/pasco-middle-school-teacher-arrested-for-enticing-minors

• http://lovefm.com/us-teacher-charged-for-enticing-minors/

• http://www.unicef.org/newsline/01pr97.htm