Aura Celeste Fernández said that the Chief of the Police, Mayor General Pedro de Jesus Candelier Tejada gave in to the corrupt structures within the National Police inherited from the days of the Trujillo Dictatorship. She made the statement during a visit to the office of District Attorney Francisco Domínguez Brito to present cases of physical abuse and sexual abuse of minors. "Candelier started out well, but today he has succumbed," the prestigious lawyer told the press in a press conference at the DA’s office. She said that reform of the National Police is not in the purchase of RD$60 million in new uniforms, because the fever is not in the sheets, it’s on the body. She said she would continue to denounce the abuses at police stations, even after leaving her post as Commissioner for the Support of Reform and Modernization of Justice. She said she would do so from the platform of the civil society. DA Franciso Dominguez Brito ensured that his department would carry out an in depth investigation and establish responsibilities to send to justice the police agents found responsible for torture and sexual abuse towards minors. Aura Fernández developed an excellent reputation after being a judge on the Central Electoral Board that organized the very successful 1996 presidential election.
