The bill was introduced after the alleged abuses of Spanish Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajas in the country came to light.
The government of Louis Arce has sent a bill to the Bolivian Parliament so that sexual offenses committed against minors do not become time-barred, regarding the case of the alleged assaults committed by him Spanish Jesuit priest Alfonso Pedrajasnow deceased, and others who have met recently.
The bill to combat impunity in sexual crimes against infants, girls, boys and adolescents aims to establish mechanisms for the victims of these acts to receive justice or at least “symbolic reparation for the very serious harm” they suffered , he said on Saturday. the presidency, Maria Nela Prada.
The proposal establishes “the unpredictability of all sex crimes typed” in the Criminal Code when the victims are minors, he explained. In this way, these crimes can now be investigated and tried regardless of the date they were committed, “so that those found guilty are effectively punished,” he said.
The project also increases the extension of criminal protection against these crimes by the state, which must also provide victims with free information, sponsorship and legal counselling, psychological treatment and medical assistance.
Prada lamented that one of the greatest social problems remains “the impunity violation of children’s and adolescents’ right to integrity.” According to the minister, the main reason for the impunity of these crimes lies in the silence and impossibility of the victims to report because they do not know “what is happening to them, out of fear or because they have been” threatened, extorted or accused by their attacker.
Many of the victims who decide to report as adults do not receive the desired redress because “the criminal justice system does not allow justice to exist, arguing that the crime has already been prescribed,” for which the aforementioned bill was drafted, he justified.
Prada also endorsed the government’s rejection of the events revealed in late April by an investigation by the Spanish media El País into a newspaper by the Jesuit Pedrajas in which he recounts his priestly life and the alleged abuses of dozens of Bolivian children and adolescents .
He also criticized the fact that the Catholic Church has allowed priests with a history of abusing minors in other countries to Bolivia, arguing that “we are not a dump for rapists”, so children’s rights will be respected.
Pedrajas, alleged abuser of the Jesuits in Cochabamba
Pedrajas was deputy director and later director since 1971 of the Juan XXIII school, in the city Cochabamba, which was a boarding school. The Jesuit also worked in other educational institutions in the country and before settling in Bolivia, he attended schools in Peru and Ecuador between 1961 and 1971.
The Society of Jesus in Bolivia has filed criminal complaints in recent days to investigate the alleged sexual abuse of Pedrajas and Pedrajas from two others priests of this order.
The Public Prosecution Service has also filed a report in this case.
The Public Prosecution Service reported that it has received so far eight complaints for pedophilia against priests, several already dead.
Source: EITB
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
