Doctor’s Trial for Sexual Assault Continues

Today, Doctor Desmond Arzu, accused of sexually assaulting a female patient during an ultrasound in March 2023, was back in court for his trial. The forty-year-old doctor, who was charged on May twelfth, 2024, appeared before a Senior Magistrate in Court #2. However, the trial couldn’t proceed because the crown’s representative, DPP Cheryl Lynn-Vidal, was absent due to another case at the High Court. The matter was adjourned to January second, 2025. Doctor Arzu arrived at court around ten a.m. with his attorneys, Bryan Neal and Arthur Saldivar. After waiting for nearly an hour, the Senior Magistrate postponed the trial. Attorney Saldivar objected to cross-examining the virtual complainant virtually and insisted she appear in person. This issue will be addressed when the trial resumes on January twenty-first, 2025. Doctor Arzu, who remains out on bail, left court with family members who came to support him. The trial was moved from Dangriga to Belize City for continuation after starting in July this year. The incident allegedly occurred on March twenty-sixth, 2023. The victim reported that Doctor Arzu assaulted her during an abdominal ultrasound by touching her inappropriately and making her feel horrified and shocked. She described how he inserted his fingers into her private parts and massaged her breast during the procedure. Doctor Arzu is a radiologist and has been out on bail since his arraignment on May twelfth, 2023.