José Wilfredo U. is under arrest for allegedly raping his nieces-in-law, two teenage girls aged 13 and 14. One of them gave birth two months ago, while the other is in her sixth month of pregnancy. The accused was captured Tuesday night in Ivirgarzama, a town in the Tropic of Cochabamba where he was hiding from justice.
According to the commander of the Cochabamba Police, Jorge René Ríos, the case first came to the attention of the older sister, who has a two-month-old baby. The victim has been sexually assaulted for quite some time, not even she remembers the exact date. The first time it happened was when she went to collect scariotes with her uncle-in-law (her aunt’s partner) in a community near the town of Cliza, in the High Valley of Cochabamba. He took her by force to a house, where he perpetrated the molestation. Some time later, on September 13, 2022, he sexually assaulted her again, taking advantage of the fact that the family members were celebrating the anniversary of Tolata.
The police executed the arrest warrant for the crime of rape of an infant, child or adolescent on Tuesday, August 1, around 22:30, in Ivirgarzama. Hours later, on Wednesday, August 2 at 14:00, another complaint for the same crime against José Wilfredo U. was filed through the Prosecutor’s Office. This time the victim is a 13 year old teenager, who is six months pregnant. She is the sister of the first victim, according to the police report.
The man is currently being held in police custody, awaiting his hearing for precautionary measures. The police will investigate whether there was a cover-up or complicity of family members.
DATA
Cases of sexual violence against minors continue to increase. From January 1 to July 16 of this year, the Public Prosecutor’s Office has received 1,362 complaints for the crime of rape of an infant, child or adolescent in the country. Cochabamba is the second department with the most complaints, registering a total of 254 cases, while Santa Cruz tops the list with 438 cases, followed by La Paz with 250.
Article 308 Bis of the Penal Code establishes that if the crime of rape of an infant, child or adolescent is committed against a person under 14 years of age, it will be punished with a penalty of deprivation of liberty of 20 to 25 years, even if there is no use of force or intimidation and consent is alleged. In case of aggravating circumstances, such as pregnancy as a result of the molestation, the penalty will be increased to 30 years.