Former Buenos Aires police officer arrested in Arturo Seguí following flight, convicted of sexual abuse
Facundo Sánchez Aguilar, former chief officer of the City Police, was captured after months as a fugitive. He was serving a seven-year sentence for sexual abuse committed at a Palermo police station.
Former officer convicted of sexual abuse arrested after months as fugitive in Buenos Aires province
Argentina's Federal Police Fugitive Search Division arrested Facundo Sánchez Aguilar, former chief officer of the City Police, on Friday in the town of Arturo Seguí, in La Plata district. According to infobae.com, the man had been a fugitive since April and was serving a seven-year prison sentence for simple sexual abuse and aggravated abuse with sexual penetration.
The arrest warrant had been issued on 9 April, following confirmation by the National Chamber of Criminal and Correctional Appeals of the sentence handed down in August 2025 by Criminal and Correctional Oral Court No. 16. The appeals court rejected a defence motion questioning the victim's testimony and upheld the ruling.
The incidents at Palermo police station
The conviction established two episodes that occurred at Neighbourhood Police Station No. 14 of the City Police, on Avenida Santa Fe 4000, in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Palermo.
The first took place in December 2022. Sánchez Aguilar brought the victim—a recently recruited police officer—into a cleaning room, closed the door and, according to a statement from Argentina's Federal Police, "forced her to perform oral sex under the threat of imposing disciplinary sanctions if she refused".
The second incident occurred on 18 June 2023. With the two of them alone in the station, the accused told the victim: "It's Father's Day, isn't there a gift for me? But I don't want you to buy me anything." He then pulled down his trousers, exposed his genitals and groped her.
The court found that Sánchez Aguilar worked as an instructor and had taken advantage of the young woman's inexperience and the hierarchical relationship of subordination. It also considered as aggravating factors the victim's vulnerability, the emotional impact she suffered, and the employment consequences: extended leave, a transfer within the force, and institutional stigmatisation.
The Appeals Chamber and the debate over consent
In confirming the conviction, the Appeals Chamber emphasised that the complainant's testimony was truthful and consistent, corroborated by other evidence. The ruling rejected the defence's arguments about the absence of physical resistance and clarified that this does not equate to consent when the incidents occurred in a context of subordination and "coercion".
The court also stressed the "power imbalance" as a decisive factor in interpreting the victim's conduct. Regarding the delay in filing the complaint, the judges noted that such delays are frequent in cases occurring within institutional settings, where the victim may fear retaliation or disbelief.
The flight and the arrest operation
As the case progressed, Sánchez Aguilar fled with an unknown whereabouts. The Specialised Unit for Complex Criminal Investigation, headed by Dr. José María Campagnoli and the secretariat of Dr. Juan Pablo Bello, then called upon the Federal Police's Fugitive Search Division.
Investigators used analysis of official databases, public agency records and cross-referencing with telecommunications companies to identify several addresses linked to the accused. One tracking point was a property on Calle 132 in Arturo Seguí, a town near La Plata.
With authorisation from Oral Court No. 16, headed by Dr. Valeria Rico and the secretariat of Dr. Verónica Potes, officers set up an operation in the vicinity of that address. Upon observing Sánchez Aguilar leaving the property and confirming his identity, they arrested him in a public place.
The arrest was also coordinated with the Fugitive Capture Secretariat, which is part of the same prosecutor's unit.
As of 31 March 2025, the City Police's Transparency Office had placed the former officer on available status and removed him from the force.
As part of the sentence, the court also ordered the extraction of Sánchez Aguilar's genetic profile for inclusion in the National Registry of Genetic Data Related to Crimes Against Sexual Integrity.
Source: Google News AR — Buenos Aires