‘GI Joe’ Goes to Jail on Rape Charge   

Fifty-one-year-old Cecil Franklin was remanded today on a charge of rape after he allegedly raped a woman inside her apartment. The victim told police that Franklin, whom she knew and who goes by the nickname “GI Joe,” ambushed her at her apartment door, placed a knife at her throat, forced her inside, and raped her on her bed. With the help of someone in the area, the rapist was detained shortly after the incident and was handed over to police. Franklin, a shoe repairman and bike repairman, was denied bail because of the nature of the charge. The fifty-eight-year-old woman told police that on Monday night around eight-forty p.m., she arrived at her apartment, and upon opening her door, Franklin held her from behind, placed a knife to her throat, and pushed her into the apartment and raped her. She said that a neighbour heard the commotion inside her apartment and called the police. Franklin is no stranger to the court or police. He has a long rap sheet with several convictions for robbery, wounding, and burglary and has also been bound over to keep the peace before. He was remanded to the Belize Central Prison until December nineteenth.