Sexual abuse, cover-up and harassment: a chief and a non-commissioned officer of the Army were arrested in Entre Ríos

The head of the Exploration Cavalry Regiment number 12 of the city of Gualeguaychú, Juan Facundo Candioti, was arrested this Tuesday, April 11, accused of covering up alleged abuses against three female soldiers. The Justice also requested the arrest of one of the two non-commissioned officers involved in the act, in which harassment and threats by members of the force were also reported.

The arrest of the military chief took place during a search at the barracks in that Entre Ríos city. Candiotti is accused of “cover-up, hindering the investigation and false testimony”, in the context of a complaint of sexual abuse, Presented by three female soldiers.

The head of the “Dragones Coronel Zelaya” Regiment is also accused for the destruction of evidence and will be investigated by Gualeguaychú federal judge Hernán Viri, together with federal prosecutor Pedro Rebollo.

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Three female soldiers denounced two noncommissioned officers

The complaints are for sexual abuse by two non-commissioned officers, one who is based in Paraná, has already been prosecuted and is on his way to trial, while another resides in Campo de Mayo, where the Gendarmerie – by order of Judge Viri – also ordered his detention.

The procedures were carried out in conjunction with others in the private home of those involved, where evidence was also sought: in the regiment, the images of the security cameras were taken with which the victims would have been monitored.

The three young women, who are between 21 and 24 years old, accused the two non-commissioned officers for sexual abuse that included touching, permanent harassment, and threats so that they do not file the corresponding complaints.

One of them resigned from her military career, while the other two are still in training, although they fear reprisals for having made the complaints.

According to Sergio Salinas, head of the Gualeguaychú Gendarmerie, “it is a case that began in 2021 and two of the three women are still serving in the force,” he said in statements to the channel All News.

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The statement of the Argentine Army on the case

In a statement, the Argentine Army claimed to have acted on allegations of sexual abuse in that regiment, and explained that from there it preventively transferred an accused non-commissioned officer to Campo de Mayo.

Although they do not mention it, they refer to non-commissioned officer Víctor Mercado, one of those indicated in the complaints and who had been transferred to Campo de Mayo when the first suspicions arose.

“On that occasion, and in compliance with the institutional protocol in cases of gender violence, the Army carried out the pertinent administrative actions for the commission of a serious offense, applied the consequent disciplinary measures and determined the change of destination of the accused in order to protect the rights of the alleged victim,” they said in the statement.

“At this moment, the Institution is at the disposal of the acting judicial authorities in order to collaborate with their requirements,” the Army closed in the letter.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense reported that the Army had already applied the “consequent disciplinary measures” in the case, as required by “the institutional protocol in cases of gender violence.”

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