( Spanish) – The Seventh Guarantee Court of Santiago de Chile ordered this Tuesday the preventive detention of the former undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve Benavides, accused of sexual crimes allegedly committed against a woman in September of this year, facts that the 59-year-old politician and doctor has denied.
The prosecutor in charge of the investigation, Xavier Armendáriz, pointed out in the formalization hearing that lasted more than 13 hours that the complainant “at the time of the events was carrying out advisory work in the undersecretary’s office” and that on September 22, the accused He met her to go to a restaurant in the center of Santiago, where they consumed food and alcohol.
Armendariz explained that “it is a crime of rape” where the woman was “incapacitated to resist”, as a result of “the high intake of alcohol.”
During the reading of precautionary measures by the judge, Monsalve decompensated for a few minutes, which forced the hearing to be suspended while the former official was treated by medical personnel. Finally, the guarantee judge ordered preventive detention for Monsalve, for considering that his freedom constitutes a danger to the security of society.
has attempted to contact Monsalve’s defense for a statement, but has so far received no response.
On October 17, the until then Undersecretary of the Interior of the Government of Gabriel Boric defended his innocence in a press conference from the La Moneda Palace. “I have the absolute conviction that I have not engaged in any conduct that constitutes a crime, which is why within the framework of the investigation I will prove my innocence,” he said.
The president of Chile, Gabriel Boric, pointed out this morning that “those who commit crimes are judged impartially and have to face all the consequences provided for by law. And that applies to all people, no matter who they are, where they come from or the position they have held. Everyone must answer to justice, because in Chile no one is above the law. For this reason, I am convinced that what happened yesterday at the formalization hearing of the former Undersecretary of the Interior, Manuel Monsalve, where preventive detention was decreed as a more burdensome precautionary measure while the investigation for the crime of rape lasts, is a correct decision on the part of of the courts. All institutions have to collaborate without ever protecting those who commit crimes, but rather protecting the victims.”
For his part, the current Undersecretary of the Interior and former Minister of Justice of Gabriel Boric, Luis Cordero, stated this Wednesday that the Executive expects the investigation to advance quickly and stressed that determining “the responsibilities in a crime as serious as sexual abuse and rape “It is decisive to recover public trust.”
In this case, Monsalve is also being investigated for possible obstruction of justice and the use of reserved money from the Undersecretary of the Interior, the Prosecutor’s Office reported. “What we know is that there have been previous efforts, without any complaint or any official communication to higher authorities by the accused. [Monsalve] “He ordered proceedings to be carried out secretly, which not only consisted of camera interventions, but also reached the victim’s inner circle,” said prosecutor Armendáriz on October 22 during the first day of formalization.
Regarding other possible investigations against Monsalve, Prosecutor Armendáriz had already said that is being investigated. tried to contact prosecutor Armendáriz for more details on this matter, but has so far not received a response.
The court issued an initial period of four months for investigationduring which time Monsalve will have to spend time in the Rancagua public prison, in the O’Higgins Region.
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