Court defers 21 incidents in trial against Jean Alain Rodríguez on corruption charges
The Second Collegiate Court postponed the decision on 21 incidents to the substantive phase of the case against former prosecutor Jean Alain Rodríguez and co-accused parties for misappropriation of more than RD$6,000 million.
Court postpones defence incidents to the substantive phase of trial against Jean Alain Rodríguez
The Second Collegiate Court of the National District decided to defer the 21 incidents raised by the defence teams of former prosecutor Jean Alain Rodríguez and his co-accused parties to be resolved together with the substantive phase of the administrative corruption case, according to ciudadoriental.com.
The decision, which accepted the motion of the Public Prosecutor's Office, was announced by the court following exhaustive deliberation. Judges Yissel Soto—presiding over the panel—Clara Castillo and Harlin Elizabeth Rosario justified the postponement by noting that the incidents presented involve an examination of the temporality of the facts, the manner in which evidence was obtained and the individualisation of the conduct of the accused.
The court added that at stake is also the determination of the origin of property rights over the seized objects, which requires a substantive examination of the factual narrative of the accusation and a harmonious weighing of the evidence to be presented. The judges concluded that the procedural moment was not appropriate to resolve such incidents separately.
Public Prosecutor's Office backs the decision
The prosecuting body was represented at the hearing by the head of the Specialised Prosecution Office for Administrative Corruption (Pepca), Mirna Ortiz, together with trial prosecutors Melbin Romero and Miguel Collado.
Ortiz referred to the opposition motion filed by some of the defence teams and considered that the court should reject it, as it had done on previous occasions. She questioned the request for extended deadlines to submit motions, understanding that it does not comply with criminal procedural rules. "The defence teams are putting forward here an opposition motion to a decision whose only purpose has been to guarantee rights," said the prosecutor.
Ortiz further stressed that, as these incidents were raised and resolved at the hearing, ordinary deadlines for opposition motions do not apply.
The court ordered that the opposition motion be debated orally the following Wednesday, 4 November, starting at 9:00 in the morning. It also scheduled the continuation of the hearing for 11 November 2026 at 9:00 in the morning, with the submission of documents through the digital platform established for that purpose.
Background: 21 incidents filed for a second time
The Public Prosecutor's Office responded in October to the 21 incidents that the defence teams of Rodríguez and other defendants presented once again. After arguing the inadmissibility of such incidents—on the grounds that the irregularities attributed by the defence had not been substantiated—the prosecuting body requested that they be deferred to be ruled on together with the substantive phase, with the aim of advancing the proceedings. The court accepted that request.
Accused of misappropriation of more than RD$6,000 million
The Public Prosecutor's Office is prosecuting Jean Alain Rodríguez Sánchez for having misappropriated more than RD$6,000 million through fraudulent procedures committed between 2016 and 2020, the period during which he served as attorney general of the Republic. The charges include corruption, acceptance of bribes, embezzlement, fraud against the State and money laundering.
Alongside Rodríguez Sánchez, the file includes: Jhonatan Loander Medina Reyes, Alfredo Alexander Solano Augusto, Jhonatan Joel Rodríguez Imbert, Javier Alejandro Forteza Ibarra, Rafael Antonio Mercedes Marte, Miguel José Moya and Braulio Michael Batista Barias. Also prosecuted are Alejandro Martín Rosa Llanes, Ramón Lucrecio Burgos, Isis Tapia, Félix Antonio Rosario Labrada, Francis Ramírez Moreno, Rolando Rafael Sebelén Torres, César Nicolás Rizik Pimentel and José Luis Liriano Adames.
Source: Google News DO — Crime