Senate Removes Immunity of Alleged Sexual Exploitation of Minors by Senator Gustavo Penadés: Lawyer Commends Political System’s Response

“I think that the political system had to be up to the task of such a delicate situation and it was quickly and very responsibly dealt with the issue”, Williman maintained in dialogue with Informative Sarandí (Sarandi radio). The lawyer also highlighted “the well-founded request” and the “hard work” by the Prosecutor’s Office regarding the request for impeachment received by legislators.

Williman referred to the consequences that such a case has in the public sphere and called, after authorities supported the senator, to have “prudence” and “delicacy”, before “going out to question” a victim or condemning someone “protected by the principle of innocence”.

The Udelar Legal Clinic defends the nationalist militant Romina Celeste Papasso, the first to publicly denounce Penadés. Williman said that a victim “very public” every time they “questioned her story she felt very bad”.

The lawyer said that “this type of thing does mark a before and after, it generates a debate first in the media and then in society about how important it is to be attentive to these situations and not to naturalize themSometimes inside it’s not so simple”held.

“Sometimes Not even the best campaign manages to put the issue on the table like a case of this magnitude does. and it leads us all to reflect and even to understand how to manage and with the prudence that must be managed,” added the lawyer.

Williman also stated that it was one of the victims sponsored by the office who said he had been threatened so that “not come close to declare…”, according to the impeachment request made by prosecutor Alicia Ghione.

Arrest of Penadés?

In Informative Sarandí, Williman referred to the possibility of Penadés being arrested and stated that due to “the presumption of innocence” and the “accusatory system” precautionary measures are “a last option”.

“To detain a person, there would first have to be procedural risks that justify it. In other words, flight risk, risk to the victims, eventually the risk to society, the possibility of frustrating the investigation, would also have to be analysed. In principle, the measure requested by the prosecution and that the guarantee judge granted It is the reservation of identities. I think it is fulfilling that mission.. I think that it is a quite effective measure to ensure the investigation, to be able to carry out the anticipated test, etc. What can happen is that if the reservation ceases one day, the prosecution may have to analyze other equally effective precautionary measures”the lawyer explained.

Williman also pointed out the use of the investigation for the fact that the Senate has lifted the privileges of Penadés. If the prosecution “needs to ask the court for something and involves the formation of a criminal case, whether it is an advance statement, whether it is proof of evidence that requires judicial authorization or if tomorrow decides to formalize the investigation, I needed that the lawlessness was decreed”.