A 25-year-old Venezuelan woman was sexually assaulted and abused by three Argentine subjects while she slept on the Costanera bridge, located in the city of Mendoza in Argentina.
The incident occurred on Friday, April 1, in O’Brien and Costanera de Guaymallén, but the Mendoza justice will not investigate the brutal attack, because the victim preferred not to file a criminal action, an act necessary for a prosecutor to find out what happened, reported the Argentine media Sitio Andino.
After being attacked by three subjects, the woman was taken to the Lagomaggiore hospital, where the corresponding cures were performed. She later gave the first statements to the police personnel, but when she had to confirm it in court, she preferred not to do so.
Apparently the victim, out of fear or with the intention of not reliving everything that happened, chose not to file a criminal action.
This is necessary because sexual abuse is a private crime, so justice cannot act ex officio, as established in articles 71 and 72 of the Penal Code, which speaks of the “exercise of actions.”
Thus, the prosecutor for crimes against sexual integrity who was on duty at the time of the event, Darío Nora, had no choice and left the file on the way to be archived.
At the same time, the three abusers went unpunished. Especially one, who had already been identified by his nickname and was intensely wanted by the police.
As was known at the time, the victim had arrived from Buenos Aires with the intention of working in Mendoza.
Hours after arriving in the province, she met a homeless man who would have taken her to the Costanera bridge, at the intersection with O’Brien, where they were going to spend the night. Two other individuals appeared there and among the three of them they abused her.
The victim asked for help at the center and was later treated at a hospital, where they verified the injuries she had suffered in the attack.