CNDH issued recommendation to SEMAR for omissions in alleged rape of teacher

The Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) issued a recommendation to the Secretariat of the Navy (SERMAR) for omissions in the case of a victim of sexual harassment inside the Center for Higher Naval Studies (CESNAV) located in Mexico City.

According to the document, the victim, who worked as an English teacher at the Center for Higher Naval Studies, was allegedly raped 4 years ago.

According to official information, on June 9, 2018, around 3:00 a.m., the young woman was at her home, located in Mexico City, when an active member of the Navy came forward. According to the narrative presented by the CNDH, both of them knew each other since the seaman was their student.

The woman complained that the naval element, who had previously engaged in aggressive behavior, had subjected her to prevent her from screaming, subsequently raped her.

After what happened, the woman went to the Public Prosecutor's Office in Mexico City where she was informed that she should go to a specialized agency for the investigation of sexual crimes, while the officials who treated her, only urged her to reconcile with her attacker.

As a background, since May 18, 2018, the Marín began to harass her, for this reason she went to various SEMAR authorities, being attended by counselors who were appointed to the case, initiated by possible acts of sexual harassment by the SEMAR element.

In the first instance, the teacher pointed out that her attacker had referred to her in a derogatory manner in whatsapp conversations that she had access to after they were made public. In the messages, the marin claimed to have had a relationship with her and sent a photograph in which she was teaching.

On June 7, 2018, the woman expelled the alleged acts of harassment against her, so the authorities applied as a sanction measure to dismiss him from English classes because according to the statements “... that would solve the problem”. However, the aggressions escalated.

Four investigation kits have emerged from the case, one of which is for threats and the other three for sexual harassment and abuse.

On August 8, 2019, it was ruled that there was no link to the prosecution against the aggressor, in the first investigation folder, “... since there was no evidentiary sufficiency in relation to physical and moral violence for its updating...”, the authorities argued.

On August 4, 2019, in compliance with the arrest warrant, the alleged aggressor was arrested and placed in custody in the North Prison; however, “as there was insufficient evidence” on August 8 of that same, the navy element was released.

This led to the fact that days later, the victim will request protection because he feared for his integrity, so on August 14, a judge in Mexico City granted him protective measures.

It should be recalled that this is not the first time that the CNDH has reported abuses perpetrated by Navy agents just a few days ago, the Mexican justice jailed three seafarers for torturing a female couple in 2011.

KEEP READING: