A Uruguayan senator was jailed last week in connection to charges that he abused underage boys that were procured for him by a local history teacher.
The accusations against 58-year-old Gustavo Penadés, a longtime, high-profile player in the ruling National Party and a powerful ally of President Luis Lacalle Pou, shocked the South American nation. Penadés will be held for 180 days as police further investigate the charges.
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The senator is facing 22 charges including sexual exploitation of minors, aggravated sexual abuse, and rape. The sexual crimes detective in charge of the case, Alicia Ghione, said that authorities took statements from nine people, and that the identities of the victims will be withheld as a protective measure. A local teacher named Sebastián Mauvezín is also facing seven charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors. Mauvezín reportedly worked at a school in the capital of Montevideo and served as a “recruiter”, said Ghione, alleging that the teacher would connect teens with adult males for sexual services, including Penadés.
“Mauvezín receives money from the alleged sexual exploiters in exchange for his work recruiting minors,” said a charging document presented by authorities.
The accusations against Penadés date back to March when a trans woman named Romina Papasso, 30, alleged in a YouTube video that she was picked up in the streets when she was thirteen and paid to have sex with Penadés. The alleged crime took place prior to her gender transition. Penadés denied the accusations and said that “I have the peace of mind that after I’m going to write something for Netflix and I’m going to become a millionaire.” Penadés told the press that he intended to sue Papasso for defamation, then didn’t.
After Penadés arrest last week, Papasso released a video note on Twitter saying that she “never regretted being the first accuser and prompting an investigation” even though “the first months were very difficult” because Penadés “had the support of all the authorities.”
“[Penadés] abused several minors throughout his life. Not only did he do it sexually, he also did it by abusing his power as a politician,” she said.
Penadés has been an important politician in Uruguay since the early 80s and was initially supported by many of the ruling elite after the accusations, including President Lacalle Pou. After Penadés arrest, the president said this “isn’t an easy day, it’s a really sad day.”
Penadés has claimed that the accusations are part of a political “conspiracy” to destroy him, but authorities dispelled that notion.
“There is no element in the investigation that reveals the existence of any type of plot,” said Ghione, alleging that the victims “come from different social contexts and do not know each other.”
The Uruguayan senate unanimously voted after his detention to boot him out of the senate on October 10.
