DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

The Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals sentenced former Deputy Minister of Youth Odalis Junior Ledesma Hernández Ledesma to serve 15 years in Najayo Jail (CCR Najayo) for the rape of a Canadian citizen, Joanna Linda Kocsis on 4 April 2017. Ledesma was ordered to pay RD$5 million in indemnity to the victim.

Kocsis had come to carry out research for her doctoral thesis. Ledesma would have assisted with the needed data. As reported, he showed her an apartment to rent, where the rape occurred.

All throughout the procedures, Ledesma argued Kocsis could not prove her case. In her favor, was that she had consulted with the Canadian Embassy that advised her to immediately leave the country and undergo rape certification procedures in Canada.

The Dominican investigators later asked the Canadian authorities to provide the rape kit taken from the victim and the...