It was a specific rape complaint against Alejandro Sojo, vocalist of the band Los Colores, which started everything. The accusation was made via Instagram through the account @alejandrosojoestupro, which was created especially for victims to raise their voices through this platform. What followed then was a whole wave of accusations.

By pointing out the same crime to Sojo himself, more victims appeared as the days passed, all indicating that this type of behavior was recurrent, especially with minors. In addition, Murachi Palomo, a friend of the singer and an accomplice, was also accused of committing sexual abuse.

The names of Tony Maestracci, drummer of the Tomates Fritos band, Leonardo Jaramillo (Kamarón), Okills guitarist, Daniel Landaeta, drummer of the Le’Cinema band, or Juan Carlos Ogando, director and co-founder of the Skena Actoral Group, were also exposed, as well as cases that point to figures from the university, politics, sports, among other areas, although without names.

#YoSíTeCreo, the #MeToo of Venezuela

The #MeToo movement began in the United States as a result of film producer Harvey Weinstein‘s sexual abuse revelations. And it was so shocking that it soon encompassed the entire planet, including Venezuela, thanks to the organization of the victims themselves.

In the specific case of what happened recently in networks in the country, another movement was generated, the #YoSíTeCreo, in response to the indifference against these cases of abuse. It also started with the Instagram account @AlejandroSojoEstupro, and like the whole context, it grew to dominate social trends.

The Alejandro Sojo and Willy Mckey case

Allegations of abuse by various public figures were answered to a greater and lesser extent by the accused. Alejandro Sojo, for example, admitted to having committed statutory rape and having requested and had sexual relations with a minor. Leonardo Jaramillo, for his part, published a statement in which he did not admit the facts, but did say that he was working on his attitude.

Another who spoke was Tony Maestracci, although he dismissed the accusations against him as defamation. However, he announced his resignation from Tomates Fritos. Those who did speak out and very clearly were all the defendants’ bands and workplaces, promptly siding with the victims and announcing everything from separations to contract breakdowns.

Willy McKey case

The loudest case of the #YoSíTeCreo movement involved the poet, writer and storyteller Willy Mckey, who was accused of having sex with a teenage girl about six years ago. The victim, who also spoke through networks under a protected identity, denounced that the artist exercised his position of power to achieve his mission.

Mckey admitted on his Instagram that he committed statutory rape (having sexual relations with minors), and affirmed that he would know how to take charge of the consequences of his actions, starting by being left out of all his work projects. While he announced that, the Prodavinci portal, the Team Poetero, Autores Venezolanos and La Poeteca rejected the crimes.

The Attorney General of the Republic, Tarek William Saab, became involved in this case, as well as in the other complaints, and announced that the Public Ministry would open investigations against Alejandro Sojo, Tony Maestracci and Mckey himself.

However, Willy McKey took action first and, this past Thursday, April 29, took his own life in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he resided. The information of his suicide spread as rumor at first, and was later confirmed by local journalists. Official versions indicate that McKey jumped into the void from a ninth floor of a building on Córdoba Avenue in the Recoleta neighborhood.

The writer left one last message on Twitter: “Don’t be this. It grows inside and kills you. I’m sorry”. That would be his suicide note.

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The post Venezuela shaken by wave of complaints about cases of sexual abuse on social networks first appeared on Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit - Official Site.

Venezuela in alert

Recently, some institutions in different regions of the country have created headlines because they are involved in the crime of child sexual abuse or a network of child trafficking.

Likewise, people who have children, whose parents have faced the need to emigrate out of the country, under their care have been detained. This situation has been used by criminals to address and attack children.

Lawyers and experts estimate that sexual abuse cases and violence against infants occur more frequently than is made public. Besides the child pornography production, using photographs of children for sale.

It is estimated that there are 1,180 cases registered throughout the national territory for this crime. Out of these numbers, the authorities have been able to respond to 63%.

The Habla Foundation Against Child Sexual Abuse

The foundation argues that the increment in the sexual abuse against children and teenagers cases is related to the emigration situation. Parents leave the country and children are left, under someone else’s protection. Sometimes relatives, sometimes close friends to the family.

The Habla Foundation is an institution formed by professionals from different disciplines who met intending to address child sexual abuse, an enormously silenced topic.

In Venezuela the following crimes occur:

• Children and teenager trafficking
• Sex slavery
• Pedophile porn

Another phenomenon that is currently presented is the use of children as payment of sexual favors in exchange for goods and services.

The Habla Foundation affirms that the regions in which the sexual abuse cases are most concentrated are those with the highest population (Caracas, Zulia, and Miranda). The victims are mostly girls and the age range is defined between 6 and 11 years.

Venezuela also faces legal gaps regarding cybercrimes such as grooming, which is not exemplified within the legal system. On the opposite, in other countries, this crime does exist.

The Habla Foundation emphasizes that children do not lie when they disclose sexual abuse. The child cannot keep it up with a story of this kind, being coherent, if he has not lived it. Moreover, the fact that he can keep the same narrative a week reaffirms that the child tells the truth.

While it is true that, probably, the child cannot discern whether it is good or bad, the kid can determine that something is happening. For this reason, it is important to encourage him or her to communicate everything that happens to him.

The post The number of child sexual abuse cases in Venezuela increases first appeared on Counter Pedophilia Investigative Unit - Official Site.