Page Seven / La Paz
Police arrested three other Mennonites yesterday, accused of participating in the rape of 25 women who live in the Bélice and Las Piedras II communities, which are in the municipality of Pailón, Santa Cruz.
“Three more people would have been apprehended within these acts of aggravated rape that the Public Ministry is investigating in the Pailón area (…) There would already be five older people apprehended, two preventive detainees and a minor offender who is in a detention center for minors”, said yesterday the departmental prosecutor of Santa Cruz, Roger Mariaca.
According to the authority, the Prosecutor’s Office will present the formal accusation against these new apprehended; In addition, he will request his preventive detention in jail while the investigations in the case in Mennonite communities continue.
“One of the new arrestees produced the famous spray with which they operated (…) There are six detainees who are going to be brought before the jurisdictional authority, the last three who were apprehended,” Mariaca clarified.
The representative of the Public Ministry explained that in addition to the 12 women who were sexually assaulted, more affected people were detected.
According to the investigation of the case, there are 25 victims, from six-year-old girls to 35-year-old women. According to the investigation, the defendants doped their victims using a spray made in the same community with veterinary drugs and anesthesia.
On Wednesday, the Police apprehended the three defendants. In the hearing that took place on Thursday, the justice determined the preventive detention in the Palmasola prison for the two adults, Johan L. (20 years old) and Bernhard F. (25) for 180 days. The minor of 17 years will enter Cenvicruz for six months.
The case became known on February 18, when the complaint was filed with the Pailón Police. Some 18 women -at first- were the victims of the aggressors.
“The youngest victim is six years old. There is another one of eight and another of 12, the others are young people up to 35 years old”, said the person in charge of the gender unit of Pailón, Katya Soliz.
