The LUC introduced several changes related to sexual crimes and some of the articles involved in this issue will be submitted to a referendum on March 27. However, those who applied for this first part of the process are not among those that the Broad Front and the social organizations want to repeal.
The prosecutor explained after completing the formalization hearing that the Law of Urgent Consideration (LUC) made this crime inescapable – that is, they must always be sent to prison –. In addition, the LU provides mandatory pre-trial detention for serious crimes of a sexual nature, Lovesio said. in other cases, the defendants can await trial in freedom.
Unreleasable
The crimes of sexual abuse and especially aggravated sexual abuse are non-releasable due to the minimum length of sentence. The article 272-BIS of the Penal Code provides for a sentence of two to twelve years in prison for the crime of sexual abuse, Y article 272-TER has a minimum sentence of two years in prison for the crime of especially aggravated sexual abuse, which was the one used to charge the three involved in this case.
The penalist Pedro Montano told The Observer that the maximum sentence to dictate a prison sentence is 24 months, while “penitentiary begins with two years”. For this, no crime exceeding two years is incarcerable. The LUC increased the penalty for sexual abuse, which went from a minimum of eight months in prison to a maximum of six years in prison, a minimum of two years in prison and a maximum of twelve years in prison. Especially aggravated sexual abuse kept its two-year minimum, but increased its maximum sentence from twelve to 16 years.
Compulsory pretrial detention
When an investigation process begins, after a formalization hearing, the Justice can allow those under investigation to await trial in freedom or in prison. In order to request what is called preventive detention, the prosecution must demonstrate that certain requirements are met, such as the possibility of an escape. However, for some crimes the Public Ministry is obliged to request preventive detention.
Mandatory preventive detention is provided for by the Article 224 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPP), of Law No. 19,293. There it is held that “The Public Ministry must request preventive detention”, for cases with imputed crimes of rape, sexual abuse and especially aggravated sexual abuse, in addition to other crimes such as robbery, extortion, kidnapping or aggravated homicide.
This is explained in the law because any of the aforementioned crimes leads to the presumption of “flight risk, concealment, obstruction of the investigation, as well as the risk to the safety of the victim and society”, by those questioned.
The penalist Germán Aller explained to The Observer that the LUC imposed the preceptivity (mandatory nature) of pre-trial detention in this type of crime, when before the judge “had possibilities” to impose other preventive measures. “Now there is no other option”, reaffirmed. For Pedro Montano this change sought “to prevent the accused from taking reprisals against the victim”, but stated that the LUC “didn’t do things right” on the legal plane because “the guarantees that the defendant’s defense has are zero.”
These two changes introduced by the LUC are not among the 135 articles that will be put up for discussion by the referendum on March 27. The one that is there is article 86 of the LUC, which removed the possibility of redemption of penalties for study and work in cases of sexual crimes, foreseen by the Article 13 of Law No. 17,897.
In the change of the norm, Those guilty of rape, sexual abuse, especially aggravated sexual abuse, were excluded from possible redemption., especially and very especially aggravated homicide, robbery with deprivation of liberty, hijacking and kidnapping.
The president of the Association of Criminal Lawyers of Uruguay, Juan Fagúndez, explained to The Observer that the changes proposed by the LUC remove “release benefits” from those of legal age who committed sexual crimes, And because of that “They will spend more time in prison.” “It is not that it increases the penalty, prevents you from going out. In a good romance, you eat all the sorrow,” he clarified.
