Félix Chero: new Minister of Justice was a lawyer for a convicted person for raping a minor

Attorney Felix Chero Medina was sworn in on March 19 as the new Minister of Justice and Human Rights, replacing Angel Yldefonso. However, along with past nominations within the Ministry of Defence and the Interior, a record as a defense lawyer for a convicted person of raping a minor is coming to light.

In August 2021, when the government had just begun, Félix Chero Medina won public office as Director General of the Defender of the Police, when the Ministry of the Interior was headed by Juan Carrasco Millones. Then, in November 2021, he was appointed chief of the Cabinet of the Ministry of Defense, at that time under the leadership of the same official, Juan Carrasco Millones.

However, there have been antecedents of the now minister of state that are being highly questioned.

Advocate for a convicted person for raping a minor

In 2013, according to a decision of the Constitutional Court contained in file No. 01745-2013-PHC/TC, Félix Chero Medina filed a habeas corpus in an attempt to annul the 25-year prison sentence of a convicted person of the crime of rape of a minor.

This habeas corpus was presented in favor of Segundo Miguel Quispe Astuchado. The lawsuit was declared inadmissible.

Sentenced and acquitted for illegal sponsorship

On the other hand, according to file 5961-2016-1708-JR-PE-01 of the Single Personal Criminal Court of Lambayeque, Chero Medina was sentenced for illegal sponsorship in 2018, which means using his role to sponsor unlawful acts. He had been sentenced to 8 months of effective imprisonment and was disbarred for the same period. The injured party was the Pedro Ruiz Gallo National University, where the lawyer served as Legal Advisor to the Administrative Vice-Rector.

The Second Criminal Appeals Chamber ended up acquitting the lawyer in the second instance, as he himself reported on his Facebook account.

Disciplinary process

In 2020, a disciplinary process was initiated against the current Minister of Justice, at the Universidad Nacional Pedro Ruiz Gallo. This is reflected in Resolution No. 674-2020-R issued on September 15 of that year, which states that Félix Chero Medina committed “irregular acts” such as “having received in his capacity as Head of the Central Office of Legal Advice the amount of 2,500 soles, sustaining as extraordinary work in the Extraordinary Professional Degree Program Cycle 2014-I, implemented by the Faculty of Civil Engineering, Systems and Architecture”, among other accusations.

The document is signed by the rector of the institution, Jorge Aurelio Oliva Núñez, and includes 26 other university workers in this disciplinary process.

SWEARING IN AS MINISTER OF JUSTICE

On March 19, lawyer Felix Inocente Chero Medina was sworn in as head of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights (Minjusdh), at a ceremony held at the Government Palace, in the presence of the president Pedro Castillo.

The swearing-in ceremony was held in the Cáceres room of the Executive Branch headquarters at 8:45 a.m., and was led by the head of state.

Chero Medina replaces the outgoing sector minister, Ángel Yldefonso Narro, who resigned after being questioned by the Congress of the Republic. His last activity as holder of this portfolio was last Friday when he made a supervisory visit to the Santa Margarita Youth Center for Diagnosis and Rehabilitation.

During the interpellation in Parliament, a group of legislators questioned him by not including in his affidavit his experience as a prosecutor for the Áncash Regional Government, where he has 78 misdemeanors due to non-attendance, delays in the delivery of documents and inefficient defence actions.