A Santiago court ordered two men accused of pimping and aggravated sexual exploitation of 45 foreign women to serve one year of pre-trial detention. Judge José Rafael D’Asís of the Santiago Permanent Services Attention Court ruled against defendants David (Junior) Matos Monegro and Estarly Almanzar Perez for their leading a criminal organization that recruited women, controlled them and sexually exploited them in apartments in Santiago city. Of the 45 women, 43 were Colombian and two Venezuelans.
According to the file presented by the Santiago Prosecutor’s Office, the defendants “exercised physical and psychological violence against the victims, subjected them to degrading and humiliating treatment, and isolated them from their families and social environment.”
Judge José Rafael D’Asís declared the case complex to give time for an extensive investigation. The court also ordered the seizure of assets confiscated during the execution of some 15 raids.
The Prosecutor’s Office is working on the case in coordination with the Special Prosecutor’s Office for the Illicit Trafficking of Migrants and Trafficking in Persons and the National Police.
Regarding the situation of the rescued foreign women, the Public Ministry explained that they were not arrested, rather transferred to different shelters belonging to the Ministry of Women. 35 of the women have decided to stay in the Dominican Republic. The Public Ministry says the women are free to return to their countries at any time and has notified the embassies of the two countries.
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Hoy
DR1 News
22 July 2024