Guápulo parish priest is in jail and is investigated for sexual abuse

Ecuadornews:

In Guapulo there is concern. The parish priest of that Quito neighborhood was arrested over the weekend, after his neighbors reported him to the police for an alleged sexual assault on a girl.

Yesterday, February 4, 2019, policemen toured the area and were located in Francisco Compte and Juan De Toro streets. On Saturday night, a mob hit the priest precisely in that place. In the midst of the tumult, the residents pointed to the parish priest, because he supposedly touched the private parts of a minor of 10 years and because he would have tried to kiss her. The agents rescued the suspect.

Second lieutenant Alejandro Gordón, head of the Itchimbia 1 Subcircuit of the National Police, remembers that there were blows, but that they immediately talked with the neighbors, to calm them down and capture the priest. “The mother of the girl said that there was some friction in the private parts and when the complaint existed, they proceeded to arrest them,” says Gordón.

With a broken voice, a relative of the girl only says that she expects justice. One of the neighbors, who lives 65 years in the sector, cries to remember what happened. “I felt very bad, because I do not want that kind of thing to happen to anyone. We are mothers and we have to take care of our neighborhood.”

 After what happened, by 4:00 pm the Cabildo Ampliado de Guapulo was called, but it was postponed until 7:00 p.m. Finally it was not produced by request of the close friends of the girl. After being subjected to a hearing, the judges ordered preventive detention against the apprehended.

The announcement was made by the Interior Minister, María Paula Romo. “He would have assaulted two sisters of 10 and 14 years (…) Society and State vigilantes should give the toughest penalties for sexual offenders.”

The relatives of Diana Carolina, the young woman murdered in Ibarra; those close to Martha, sexually assaulted by three people; Evelyn’s relatives, raped by a taxi driver; the representatives of Gloria, also violated in a taxi. All cases came to the judicial offices.

Last month, the Office of the Prosecutor received 10 daily complaints of rape, 14 for abuse and three for harassment in the country. Investigators have received complaints for eight types of sexual crimes.

Between January 2017 and January 2019, there are 24 680 complaints filed in the tax offices, which have not passed the reserved investigation stage. The files are stacked on top of each other on the desk of the Consuelo Tipán gender prosecutor.

One of the cases she handles is Martha’s. The investigation of this case will close on February 13. Yesterday, in the Pichincha Prosecutor’s Office, new steps were taken, such as the extension of the versions to the girl’s father and one of the friends.

Only in the office of Tipán there are 5 000 pending investigations and more are arriving daily. The official says that because of the work overload she has not been able to review the folders that were entered two years ago.

In 2014, a 3-year-old girl was the victim of a sex crime. Her mother worked two years as a domestic employee in a house. The boss built a room for them to live there. He even took care of the girl. But one day, he asked her to buy groceries at the market and when she returned she saw her daughter lying on the bed.

The mother says that she observed the man while covering his eyes and touching his private parts. That day, the woman denounced him in the Prosecutor’s Office of Santo Domingo. The agents said that it was an attempt against modesty.

According to the previous Criminal Code (Article 504), this offense is paid with jail from four to eight years. Five years later, the case is still in the initial phase of the investigation, as four prosecutors who took the file assure that there is no evidence to follow.

Attorney General, Ruth Palacios, tells this newspaper that the offices of provincial prosecutors are full of complaints. “Gender violence units handle between 4,000 and 8,000 files.” She assures that this year, the Government has allocated more resources for these units.

In 2012, the Pichincha Prosecutor’s Office had four specialized units in gender. Now there are 19. Officials agree that the workload is “very strong”. The relatives of Diana Carolina want the crime not to go unpunished and to speed up the investigation.

Yesterday, at 16:00, the International Relations Committee of the Assembly received the relatives of the girl. The idea was to tell details of what happened on the day of the attack, so that a report could be prepared. There, the relatives asked that this femicide be considered a state crime. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/parroco-guapulo-preso-abuso-sexual.html