Judge rules no jail time for 22-year-old Mark Godoy Jr. who had sex with 14-year-old girl because he ‘suffers depression’, smokes weed and has ‘cognitive ability of 8-year-old’ despite luring victim in on Facebook

By Breaking Belize News Staff: In a complex and highly unusual case, a 22-year-old man from Belize City has pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor. However, he will not face prison time after a High Court judge determined that his severe intellectual impairment drastically reduced his culpability.

Mark Stephen Godoy Jr., who is reported to have the cognitive ability of an eight-year-old, entered the guilty pleas before Justice Nigel Pilgrim on Tuesday. The charges stem from two incidents in March 2024 involving a 14-year-old girl.

The case has been defined by significant legal and medical debates over Godoy’s mental state. During earlier fitness-to-plea hearings, the court reviewed psychiatric evaluations from Dr. Suzanna Hoy-Mitchell and Dr. Denettlhia Usher, conducted in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Both doctors concluded that Godoy suffered from intellectual impairment and deemed him unfit to stand trial. Dr. Usher noted that his condition was exacerbated by symptoms of depression, while Dr. Hoy-Mitchell suggested his cognitive function had also been suppressed by marijuana use.

Despite these medical conclusions, Justice Pilgrim ultimately ruled that Godoy was fit to enter a plea and stand trial. The Crown, represented by Crown Counsel Kirk Brown from the Director of Public Prosecutions’ office, successfully argued for Godoy to be held liable to face the charges.

Following a sentencing indication requested by defense attorney Monica Stuart, Godoy chose to plead guilty after learning he would not face a custodial sentence. Justice Pilgrim indicated that he found the amount of blame attributable to Godoy to be very low due to his intellectual impairment and depression, stating that imposing a prison sentence under these circumstances would be unjust.

According to the facts of the case, Godoy and the 14-year-old victim began communicating via Facebook Messenger and Instagram in February 2024. Godoy, who used the social media handle “NBA Mark Younggeneral,” was 20 at the time. Despite the victim disclosing her age, the two continued to talk and eventually arranged to meet.

The two encounters took place on the mornings of March 1 and March 5, 2024. On both occasions, the pair met at a mutual friend’s home on the southside of Belize City before walking to Godoy’s nearby residence, where the unlawful sexual intercourse occurred.

While Godoy has been assured he will not face a prison term, his official non-custodial sentence will be handed down by Justice Pilgrim on September 7, 2026, at 1:30 p.m.

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