A Puerto Plata judge ordered two US citizens and a Dominican to serve six months in jail as they await a trial for the holding of seven minors ages 12 to 14 years of age at a hotel.
One of the US citizens is 32-year old Tyree Dumas of the Philadelphia based Dollarsboyz, a group that describes itself online as a major dance and youth empowerment entity. Also under arrest is Williams Anthony Nelson, and 24-year old Dominican citizen, Elvis Henríquez.
The men were arrested last week when they tried to gain admittance with the boys to a hotel in Cofresí, Puerto Plata. The hotel alerted the authorities because it participates in a nationwide tourism effort to avoid child abuse.
Prosecutor Michael Nunez Gil, of the Unit of Attention to Victims of Gender Violence, Domestic and Sexual Crimes, said that the hotel administration prevented the accused from staying with the children when suspecting the men were not the parents as pretended.
The men are accused of violating the Code for the Protection and Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents. They are also accused of violating the Penal Code where it refers to the psychological abuse against minors and the abduction, concealment, suppression and transfer of children and adolescents.
The children are under the care of the National Council for Children and Adolescents (Conani).
As reported in Noticias SIN, during the preventive trial hearing, prosecutors Gabriel Brugal and Ramón Cabrera presented evidence that Dumas had a suspicious attitude when he ordered the boys not to speak to the members of the Specialized Tourism Security Corps (Cestur) who questioned them at the hotel.
Tyree Dumas appears online as the founder of the youth empowerment group, Dollarboyz. Dollarboyz is described as a “massive youth-led performing and media arts movement that attracts youth from all over the world. The movement is known for creating Philly’s native dance, Tangin.”
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Diario Libre
Noticias SIN
Dollarboyz
7 June 2021