Two 20-year sentences and preventive detention for child sexual abuse in Dominican Republic
Three court rulings in the Dominican Republic sanctioned sexual assaults against girls in Santo Domingo Oeste, Pedro Brand and Azua.
Three court rulings for sexual assaults against minors in Santo Domingo Oeste, Pedro Brand and Azua
Three judicial decisions handed down in recent hours in the Dominican Republic resulted in two 20-year prison sentences and a three-month preventive detention measure against men accused or found guilty of rape and sexual assault against minors, according to infobae.com. The proceedings took place in Santo Domingo Oeste, Pedro Brand and Azua.
The Public Ministry stated that the rulings stemmed from investigations conducted by specialised prosecutors' offices handling violence against women, domestic violence and sexual crimes. In all three cases, the identities of the victims were withheld as they were girls and a teenager.
Sentence for ongoing abuse from age five
The Third Criminal Court of Santo Domingo Oeste sentenced André Morel de los Santos to 20 years in prison for sexually assaulting an eight-year-old girl in the Municipal District of La Guáyiga, municipality of Pedro Brand.
According to the investigation directed by prosecutor Joel Pinales, Morel de los Santos took advantage of the victim's mother's absences to commit the abuse. The case file indicates that the abuse began when the girl was five years old and that the accused threatened her to prevent her from revealing what had happened.
Rape of 13-year-old teenager in El Café de Herrera
The same Third Criminal Court of Santo Domingo Oeste imposed a 20-year prison sentence on Keidel Valdez for the sexual rape of a 13-year-old teenager in the El Café de Herrera sector, an incident that occurred on 9 January 2025.
The prosecution established that the teenager accompanied a friend to collect money from a nearby house. While waiting, Valdez forced her into a room, where he committed the assault, according to the case file.
Prosecutor Rosa Terrero conducted the investigation. During trial, prosecutors Brenda Reyes and Francheska Alcántara presented a medical-forensic certificate, a psychological evaluation and the victim's testimony, received via Gesell Chamber.
The Public Ministry argued that the evidence proved the responsibility of the defendant and the violation of the Dominican Criminal Code and Law 136-03, which regulates the protection system and the rights of children and adolescents. The court, presided over by María Cordero del Socorro and comprised of judges Clara Joselyn Rivera Franco and Sandra Josefina Cruz, ordered that Valdez serve his sentence at the Najayo Men's Correctional and Rehabilitation Centre.
Preventive detention in Azua for touching a 10-year-old girl
A court in Azua ordered three months of preventive detention against Manuel Antonio Montilla Encarnación, accused of rape and sexual assault against a 10-year-old girl. The measure was requested by prosecutor Nélia Melo Mejía, head of the Gender Violence and Domestic Violence Unit of the Azua Prosecutor's Office.
Judge Dania Abreu, of the Permanent Care Court, accepted the prosecution's request considering the severity of the facts and the risk that the accused would attempt to evade the proceedings.
The investigation was initiated following a report filed by the victim's brother with the prosecutor's office. According to authorities, the girl told her sister-in-law that the accused—who maintained a relationship of trust with her mother—had committed improper touching. Studies carried out by the National Institute of Forensic Sciences (Inacif) supported the minor's allegations, the prosecutor's office reported. Montilla Encarnación will serve the coercive measure at the public jail at Kilometre 15 in Azua.
Source: Google News DO — Crime