2024-05-05 17:04:13
The communal chief will be suspended from office for the duration of the sentence.
The Laja Guarantee Court sentenced Mayor Roberto Elías Quintana to 40 days in prison, with the benefit of conditional remission of the sentence, after being found guilty of sexual harassment against a municipal official in August 2021.
Magistrate Josué Martínez Pinto also imposed the sentence of imprisonment on the mayor of Laja. suspension from public office for the duration of the sentenceplus the payment of a fine of 5 UTM.
According to the Public Ministry, on August 5, 2021, Roberto Quintana arrived at a municipality office, where the victim was alone, taking advantage of perform acts of sexual significance “consisting of acts of approaching, hugging, touching the face, hair, arms and hands of the victim with their hands; try to kiss herwhich is avoided by (…), continuing with the approaches, hugs and kisses on the cheek of the victim who expresses his discomfort by asking him to stop his actions.
In the ruling, the court stressed that “the defense’s request, that is, the suspension of the imposition of sentence, is not granted, since sufficient background information has not been incorporated for this.”
After learning of the conviction against the mayor of Laja, Yumbel’s chief prosecutor, Luis Cruz, declared that “we are satisfied with the decision that the court has made.”“, and the penalty, as I already pointed out, is within the framework established by the law and requested by the Prosecutor’s Office.”
Gender violence: if you are a victim or witness of economic, psychological, obstetric, physical or sexual violence, you can receive free and confidential guidance at number 1455 of the National Service for Women and Gender Equality (SernamEG). You can also call +569 9700 7000 or the Safe Report Phone: 600 400 0101. If you need psychological, social or legal support, these are the Women’s Centers throughout the country.