Shania Welch Out on Bail; Will Stand Trial for Child Pornography

After spending over five months on remand for child pornography and sexual assault of a ten-year-old, Shania Shahera Welch, a twenty-one-year-old student from Gales Point Manatee, is finally out on bail. Her case wrapped up in a preliminary inquiry last Monday, March seventeenth, at the Belize City Magistrate’s Court. The Director of Public Prosecutions herself handled the inquiry, which ended with Welch being committed to stand trial at the High Court’s April session. According to the ten-year-old victim’s report, Welch allegedly forced her to masturbate with a deodorant bottle and recorded the act. The Senior Magistrate ordered Welch to stand trial for making child pornography and sexual assault. During the inquiry, DPP Cheryl Lynn-Vidal presented several statements against Welch that the prosecution plans to use. Welch had been denied bail since her arraignment in early October 2024, spending over five months behind bars. She was granted bail today for eight thousand dollars, with conditions: she must not interfere with the victim, stay two hundred yards away from her, and report to the police station weekly. The allegations date back to December 31, 2020, and January 1, 2022, when Welch reportedly made a video of the child engaging in explicit sexual activity. The police prosecutor objected to bail, fearing Welch might interfere with the victim. Despite this, Welch was granted bail after having no objections. The case began when members of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit responded to reports of an explicit video involving a minor circulating in southern Belize. The victim identified Welch as the woman in the video during an interview conducted with her mother and a social worker.