The Judicial Council confirmed the start of an investigation against magistrate Jenny Patricia Freire after her controversial decisions in favor of the Safety company, in charge of fotorradares in Loja and Ambato.
Even if Jenny Patricia Freire is a judge of the Los Ríos criminal court, has resolved cases to favor of the company Safety that maintains legal problems in cities very far from its jurisdiction: Ambato (Tungurahua) and Loja. In both cases, the magistrate has ruled in favor of the signature by fotorradares, with decisions that go against the municipalities and in which millions of dollars are at stake. His actions raised suspicions in the Council of the Judiciary (CJ).
From that entity they confirmed that the case is in the Transparency department from two months ago. All disciplinary processes in which assumptions are investigated reach this unit. “Acts of corruption”. At the moment, a committee performs a report to verify if there were irregularities in the Freire failures. With this document, it is possible to recommend the initiation of a disciplinary investigation for his dismissal or, even, lthe opening of a process in the Public Prosecutor’s Office, if applicable.
Six processes against him, filed in Los Ríos
LA HORA accessed information about Freire since his possession as a first level judge in Quevedo, on July 28, 2016. Due to private complaints, he has faced six investigations since 2020. None emerged and all were filed by the provincial delegation of the CJ.
For example, file 0003-2019 was inadmissible “for lack of requirements” in the presentation of the complaint. Investigation INV-0023-2019 was initiated by allegedly not having “verified the presence of judicial officials at a hearing”, however it was put aside. There is also another complaint about problems in the “jurisdiction” that was never resolved. To these, there is a seventh complaint from a person who took his case to the Constitutional court. In a letter, he indicated that during the trial he “was left defenseless” due to the actions of the judge.
Article 114 of the Code of the Judicial Function establishes that disciplinary proceedings will be initiated ex officio by the provincial director, by the Judicial Council or by an individual. The control process begins when there is “reliable information that the judge has incurred in an alleged sanctioned disciplinary offense.”
This newspaper sought to speak with the judge and he sent information and interview requests to his institutional mail and to a cell phone. However, there was no answer until press time.
Protective action was filed after hours
Four assembly members for Loja asked the CJ a report on what happens to the judge, since they consider that there is a damage to their province. In an official letter dated December 10, the Judiciary responded and detailed how the process took place in which the judge took charge of the protection action presented by Safety against the Municipality of that city.
According to the files, the company filed the request on October 11, 2021 at 5:33 PM, “outside of business hours.” Therefore, the action did not enter a normal draw in the Criminal Judicial Unit of Quevedo, which has 8 active judges. As it was treated as flagrante delicto, a lottery had to be carried out among those who were on duty. Freire, coincidentally, was.
The brief was also presented under the letterhead of “protection action” within a process “of jurisdictional guarantees of constitutional rights.” Therefore, she, who is a first-level criminal judge, was able to hear and rule on the case, even if it has been about processes that are aired in other cities.
From the office of the legislator for Loja, Johana Ortiz, they also indicated that the action was resolved in less than 15 minutes. According to the documents sent by the Judiciary, the company’s lawyer presented 73 sheets in his request. The assembly member indicated that “by calculating the judge’s response time, each sheet was read in 12 seconds ”.
The judge is persecuted by Safety cases
Freire intervened the previous year in two rulings in favor of Safety Enforcement Seguridad Vial SA Safenforvia. In the first, he authorized the company to get on the system and collect the fines generated by the photosensor located on Bolivariana avenue and Luis Aníbal Granja. (Earthquake sector), in Ambato. In a report presented in September, it was known that the amount was close to $ 60 million for fines to 362,000 drivers who exceeded the speed limit in the area.
Safety, in July 2021, filed a protection action in Los Ríos against the Municipality of that city. He mentioned that the municipality was violating his right to work due to the impediment of collecting what was detected in the ninth photosensor. Freire’s ruling was favorable for the company to go up in the system and collect the fines from January 2022, but the ruling was appealed.
However, in Loja, Safety sued the Municipality for breach of the photomulting contract. There the company filed a protection action again in Quevedo and again, Judge Freire ruled that the municipality should cancel $ 12 million. The problem arose because in Loja, the five photo-radars that were located in 2015 are no longer operational since May 2020, due to the conclusion of the contract. The Mayor’s Office appealed the ruling.
The Mayor of Ambato terminated the contract
After the Comptroller General of the State establish irregularities in adjudication and execution of photorradars contract, Javier Altamirano, Mayor of Ambato, terminated the contract with the company Safety. Saccording to the Mayor, they are facing a business where “they are able to go to court and other instances to have personal benefits against the law and morals, enrich themselves unduly, and harm the economy of all Ambateños and Ecuadorians ”.
The company responded in a statement and said that They have been adjusted to the regulations. He denied that there had been any damage to the city. In response to the Mayor’s statements, he mentioned that, “So far we have maintained a respectful posture when acting and pronouncing the authority, However, we will initiate all legal actions to defend the honor of our company against the incessant attacks by politicians who are trying to cover up their inefficiency. They tarnish years of management that has managed to reduce fatal accidents at checkpoints”In Ambato.
The judge has $ 461 in her accounts
In the last statement of assets that is posted on the official website of the Comptroller’s Office, the judge records assets for $ 162,461. There are two vehicles from 2016 and 2017, a piece of land and a house in Chimborazo and another plot in Los Ríos. As part of his assets, he has three accounts totaling $ 461; the salary of a judge is around $ 4,164 a month.
Among her liabilities (debts), the magistrate accumulates $ 126,212. Two unsecured loans stand out, two mortgages and a credit card.
