They capture a retired colonel who was accused of sexually abusing a lieutenant in Yopal

This Friday, March 25, agents of the CTI of the Attorney General's Office arrested Carlos René Pedraza Guarín in Bogotá, the retired colonel reported having participated in the sexual abuse of a lieutenant of the Army during the night of Saturday, March 5 in Yopal, Casanare.

The woman, whose identity has been protected and is serving in the XVI Brigade of the Eighth Army Division, was found on the morning of March 6 in a sewer located near the military canton Manare. She was disoriented, naked and with visible signs of abuse.

The lieutenant was taken to Yopal Hospital to treat her serious injuries and spent time under reserved prognosis. The health center staff confirmed that his body showed signs of sexual abuse.

According to the first version that the officer was able to give, Mr. Pedraza offered to take her to her bedroom because she was already under the influence of alcohol. At that time I would have abused her. After the scandal was uncovered, Pedraza was subjected to a breathalyzer test that showed positive results. He also accepted that he had a relationship with the lieutenant who is accusing him today.

Pedraza had already been called to qualify services. However, the Prosecutor's Office suspects that the officer who offered to take the lieutenant would not be the only one involved in the assault she suffered. She gave a first version of the events that she could remember, according to which she was sharing with the colonel and other members of the Army.

One of them, according to the news news Caracol, is the largest deputy commander of the service battalion in Yopal, who has already entered the investigation and was also removed from office.

For the same events, a captain is also being followed up who allegedly shared with the colonel in the Yopal bar and who, in addition, would have failed to comply with a quartering order by public order.

In addition, the participation in the event of two other non-commissioned officers, who were also seen with the colonel in question, is studied.

The clues that the Prosecutor's Office has gathered so far are extracted from testimonies — starting with that of the victim — and movements recorded on the security cameras installed in Manare canton.

Regarding this aberrant case, Defense Minister Diego Molano Aponte had launched the 'Protocol for the Prevention and Attention of Sexual Harassment for Civilian Personnel' within the Military Forces, which includes civilian officials.

The new protocol includes routes for making relevant complaints of sexual abuse or harassment, as well as the procedure for processing them within the disciplinary control carried out in this regard by the General Inspectorate of the Army.

Through his Twitter account, the minister presented it with a video, “from the Ministry of National Defense we are focused on Institutional Strengthening. We are making progress in guaranteeing women's right to a life free from sexual and gender-based violence.”

In the same way, medical, psychological and legal accompaniments for the victims of these events are also included. “We have a protocol for civilian and non-uniformed personnel with which we promote action against sexual harassment conduct.”

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