Aunt fined for allegedly assaulting 11-year-old niece who soiled herself; says it was simply discipline

Posted: Friday, July 4, 2025. 4:14 pm CST.

By Breaking Belize News Staff: A woman from Dangriga who works on Turneffe Atoll has been fined after pleading guilty to assaulting her 11-year-old niece, claiming it was a form of discipline.

Lynden Lillian Jones, who is currently out on bail for an unrelated burglary charge, appeared before Magistrate Ludlow Black in Belize City Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, where she pleaded guilty to common assault.

The incident occurred on Tuesday, July 2, in Mahogany Heights, where police responded to a call from a concerned citizen who reported hearing a child crying. When officers arrived, they found the 11-year-old girl and later learned she had been hit by her aunt.

According to police, witness reports alleged Jones beat the child multiple times with a broom over missed chores. However, in court, Jones denied the extent of the allegations. “I never hit her like that what they seh,” Jones told the court. “I just hit her two times with my hand.”

She explained that the child, who is under her care while her sister works, had soiled herself, and she disciplined her by spanking. “At age 11, she should know not to be peeing and stooling herself,” Jones said.

Magistrate Black acknowledged the seriousness of the offense, especially because it was committed against a minor, but opted against a custodial sentence. He considered Jones’s early guilty plea, lack of prior convictions for similar offenses, and her expression of remorse.

Jones was fined $200 plus a $5 court cost, with a payment deadline of August 29, 2025, or face two months in prison in default.

Meanwhile, Jones is scheduled to appear in the Dangriga Magistrate’s Court on July 31, 2025, to answer to a pending burglary charge.

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