Image credit: Ricardo Antúnez via Mediospublicos.uy.
Gustavo Penadés, the ex-president of the Mercosur Parliament and a former senator in Uruguay, has had his preventive detention extended to February 6, 2025, following new charges against him.
Penadés has been in custody since October 2023, charged with 22 counts of sexual crimes against minors. On September 23, the National Party politician received two additional charges, including qualified bribery and criminal association, which extended his pre-trial detention.
Sebastián Mauvezín, a local history teacher who is charged with “recruiting” minors for Penadés in exchange for payment, will also remain detained until the same date. The investigation has also been extended until June 10, 2025.
The new charges accuse Penadés of meeting with police officials and IT experts as part of an alleged ploy to prove his innocence. According to evidence presented by prosecutor Alicia Ghione, Penadés instructed them to identify his accusers and establish links between them, in order to prove that their allegations were fabricated.
He had allegedly promised a house to the former director of the Comcar prison — Carlos Taroco — who is currently serving three years in prison for his complicity in the case. He is also said to have paid police officer Diego Rodríguez multiple sums of money, in addition to paying hackers who accessed the social media accounts of minors.
A number of Penadés’ accusers have reported being threatened and followed by “strange” vehicles, some of which would park nearby the houses of alleged victims. Prosecutor Ghione has also reported receiving threats.
The spokesperson for the prosecution, Javier Benech, revealed that, according to Ghione and her team “Penadés was the initiator and financier of what is known as ‘La Trama’ (The Plot), which is an illegal surveillance of the victims to reveal their identities and attempt to hinder the investigation. The judge accepted these arguments and determined that there was sufficient evidence for formal charges.”
He added: “The initial charges were for sexual offenses, but, in the framework of this investigation, we found another element which is very relevant,” namely “the use of state resources to try and identify the victims.”
Only two of Penadés’ accusers have identified themselves publicly. One of those is Romina Papasso, a transgender woman, who alleges that she was thirteen when she was picked up on the streets and was paid to have sex with Penadés. The alleged incident was prior to her transition.
The second complainant to identify themselves is Jonathan Mastropierro, who alleges that Mauvezín was the one who put him in contact with Penadés, and claims that Penadés is just one of several legislators “sitting on benches, paying minors for sex.”
