He oral trial against the former governor and senator for Tucumán Joseph Alperovich for alleged abuse and rape against a niece and former collaborator will begin the February 5, 2024. This was resolved this Wednesday by the Oral Court number 29, which summoned a list of 81 witnessesincluding the current president of Tucuman Juan Manzurto testify in the case.
Judge Juan Ramos Padilla also ordered a series of measures as part of the “supplementary instruction” prior to the initiation of the trial. The legislator -currently on leave- is accused of sexually abusing his niece between 2017 and 2019, in events that allegedly took place in his offices in Tucumán and in the City of Buenos Aires.
“Sexual, psychological and symbolic violence”: the harsh accusation against former Governor Alperovich
Between them, they would have been three incidents of sexual abusetwo tentatively, and six of aggravated sexual violence for having been with carnal access. The file began in 2019, when the young woman denounced him, although Alperovich was summoned to testify only in 2022, when denied responsibility for those events.
According to the indictment, the former governor would have committed these crimes “mediating abuse of power and authority; all of which due to their circumstances and duration caused the victim an outrageous sexual subjection.”
alperovich He had asked to be tried by a popular jury, invoking a rule that governs the City of Buenos Aires. This was rejected by the first instance judge, Osvaldo Rappa, the Crime Chamber and later by Ramos Padilla, since “the law whose application is required it was not created for national courts with seat in the Federal Capital”.
Among the measures requested by the magistrate, are the notes of the psychological expert Monica Herran who intervened in the case, and the denial of defense request to make a new psychological evaluation to the victim.
If you are found guilty at trial, the former president of Tucumán could receive a sentence of up to fifteen years in prison.
The trial against José Alperovich
In principle, the case was processed in two jurisdictions, but the Supreme Court of Justice ruled that all the facts should be investigated in the National Criminal and Correctional Court 35 of the City of Buenos Aires after an opinion of the interim Attorney General, Eduardo Casal.
Thus, Rappa investigated the prosecutors with the contributions Mariela Labozzettain charge of the Specialized Fiscal Unit for Violence against Women (UFEM) and Santiago Vismarawho asked to “evaluate” the different factors of the case with a gender perspective.
How were the 9 cases of sexual abuse reported against Alperovich
Prosecutors detailed that the first abuses committed by the former governor occurred in mid-December 2017 and that they persisted until December 2018. Vismara and Labozzetta underlined the captive status that the victim suffered and that was conditioned by the subordination economic, social, psychological, legal and political, as well as physical force.
“Methods of gaining control of the victim consist of inflicting psychological trauma in a systematic and repetitive manner. They are organized techniques of weakening and disconnection. These methods are designed to cause terror and helplessness and destroy the victim’s sense of self in relation to others,” court officials said.
“The effect of this technique is to convince the victim that the abuser is omnipotent, that resistance is futile, and that his life depends on winning indulgence through absolute submission”, they stated.
FP / ds