Recent reports on the accusations against an English professor for the rape of a 13-year old at a rural school in La Siria, Quisqueya municipality in San Pedro de Macoris continue to make headlines. The investigators have ascertained that the child and professor had maintained the relationship for about a year and this was well known and allowed until the case made the news. The authorities removed the school director and all the staff from the school as the investigations unfold now under the guidance of the Ministry of Education echelons. The school was ordered to close physically with virtual learning for a week after the incident came into the open. The school reopened with new professors and staff on Monday, 25 November 2024.
The Permanent Attention Services Office of San Pedro de Macorís has postponed until Monday, 2 December 2024, the first hearing to determine the coercive measure against teacher Fernando Altagracia Peña Eusebio. The postponement was granted to allow the defendant’s attorneys to prepare their defense. The accused’s legal representatives reiterated their client’s innocence.
Peña Eusebio is accused of violating articles 330 and 331 of the Dominican Penal Code, as well as article 396, letters A, B, and C, of the Law for the Protection and Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents (Law 136-03), for acts committed against a teenage girl, whose name is being withheld for legal reasons.
The accused was arrested during an investigation carried out by the Integral Attention Unit for Gender, Intrafamily Violence, and Sexual Crimes of the judicial district of San Pedro de Macorís. According to authorities, another teacher implicated in the case remains at large.
El Nacional newspaper reports that according to a report filed by the district education director, school officials were aware of a year-long romantic relationship between the student and one of the accused teachers but failed to take any action.
Eduardo Elías Luis, director of district 05-08, detailed the findings in a letter sent to the Gender-Based Violence, Intrafamily Violence, and Sexual Offenses Unit of the San Pedro de Macorís Prosecutor’s Office. Luis stated that he obtained screenshots of WhatsApp conversations between the teacher, Roberto Alejandro Bello Matos, and the student, which provided evidence of the relationship.
“We were informed that the teacher and the 13-year-old student had been in a supposed relationship for a year, and according to the screenshots, members of the management team were aware and did not report it,” Luis said.
The teacher had requested a transfer to another school and made other unusual moves prior to the allegations coming to light. Despite these red flags, school officials allowed the teacher to continue working while they initiated an investigation.
The case has sparked outrage and raised questions about the school’s handling of the situation. Authorities have since arrested Bello Matos and are awaiting the results of a forensic interview with the victim.
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El Nacional
El Dia
Diario Libre
Hoy
27 November 2024