From Argentina.
Source:
https://entreriosahora.com/testigos-de-jehova-12-anos-de-carcel-por-abusar-de-menores/
Google translation:
Jehovah's Witnesses: 12 years in prison for abusing minors
ADMIN
MARCH 19, 2021
Justice today sentenced Matías Vargas, a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses church in Santa Elena, to 12 years in prison for the crime of aggravated sexual abuse and corruption of minors; While in the case of the other accused, Vito Luciano Panza, although he was also found responsible, the Juvenile Criminal Justice must intervene because at the time of the events he had not reached the age of majority.
"At the time of the events he was a minor punishable, they have declared him responsible, but the determination of the penalty that falls to him will have to be resolved by the Juvenile Criminal judge," Prosecutor Facundo Barbosa, who was in charge of the accusation , explained to Entre Ríos Now . Regarding Vargas, the court found as an aggravating factor at the time of sentencing him his status as a "ministerial servant" within the cult, which in the prosecutor's opinion is a precedent for future cases.
“It was taken into account, as we pointed out in the closing arguments, that the interpretation of this aggravating factor has to be carried out in a normative manner. That is, taking into account not only the name that the person has but the responsibilities within a certain association or religious congregation, "he explained. "It has been shown in the trial that I serve ministerial was not merely an assistant, a ´che, kid´, who did mechanical tasks, but a person considered very responsible for what happened within the congregation," he said.
In the trial, the Prosecutor's Office asked that Vargas, depending on the potential risk of flight, be applied preventive detention until the sentence is final, but the court - made up of María Carolina Castagno, Elvio Garzón and Gustavo Pimentel - rejected the request. so he will remain free.
The trial took place on March 10, 11 and 12, in the La Paz Courts. The defendants came to the bench accused of the crimes of aggravated sexual abuse and corruption of minors. When the case went to trial, prosecutor Facundo Barbosa advanced requests for a sentence of 18 years in prison for Vargas and 15 for Panza. Meanwhile, the lawyer Valeria Burkhard requested 20 years for both.
However, the order for punishment changed during the trial. The prosecutor asked for 16 years in prison for Vargas and that Panza be subjected to a criminal process for punishable adolescents, since at the time of committing the crime he would have been 16 years old. Burkhard maintained the 20-year order with respect to Vargas and complied with the fiscal order regarding Panza.
For his part, the lawyer Roberto Alsina, defender of the accused, requested the prescription of the crimes with respect to Vargas and argued that Panza was a non-punishable minor, and questioned whether he was 16 years old at the time of the events.
If it is considered that at the time of the event he was under 16, the Law says that below that age “punishment will not be authorized for adolescents who carry out behaviors prohibited by criminal law and, consequently, the scope of freedom found exempt from punitive intervention ”.
An outstanding fact during the trial was the lack of collaboration of the leadership of Jehovah's Witnesses in the city of the north of Entre Ríos. The position was the same as the one they had during the investigation process. On Thursday the 11th, three Elders, authorities of the Santa Fe Temple, avoided answering some specific questions before the Court. They did so on the basis of article No. 289 of the Entre Ríos Code of Criminal Procedure, which provides that they may refrain from declaring about "secret" facts known to "ministers of an admitted cult." The authorities who chose silence are Lucas Pedernera, Pablo Paunera and Aldo Córdoba.
The case was opened in 2017, when Belén, then 18, posted Vargas and Panza on Facebook. In the post, he accused them of child molesters. The letter prompted the intervention of the Secretariat for Women of the Municipality of Santa Elena, which provided restraint to the young woman and her cousin, who also denounced abuse. Both confirmed their statements in the judicial sphere, where they reported that the events occurred when they were between 8 and 11 years old.
Vargas, the eldest of the defendants, sued Belén for slander and insults, but the case was unsuccessful. This was ordered on June 6, 2017 by the Judge of Guarantees and Transition of La Paz, Silvina Cufré de Millán. The lawsuit was unsuccessful.
Here is the chronology of the case:
From the Editorial Office of Entre Ríos Now...
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