MORE TIP CONVICTIONS, GOE COMMITMENT FIRM

UNCLAS QUITO 000998 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/PPC, WHA/AND, AND G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL EC SUBJECT: MORE TIP CONVICTIONS, GOE COMMITMENT FIRM REF: 06 QUITO 2681 ¶1. (U) Summary: Ecuador continues to arrest, prosecute, convict and sentence TIP offenders. Superstar El Oro province prosecutor Lucy Blacio added another two convictions to her credit in April. Pichincha province gained two this month, the first convictions outside El Oro under Ecuador's modern anti-TIP statute. Arrests continue apace nationwide and the GOE has uncovered and exposed a network of children rented out to begging syndicates. National authorities maintain expressions of commitment in the fight against TIP. End summary. First TIP Convictions in Pichincha, More Arrests ¶2. (U) On April 23, Pichincha province TIP prosecutor Thania Moreno won the conviction and sentencing of defendants for sexual exploitation of minors, marking the first TIP sentence outside of El Oro province under Ecuador's new anti-TIP law. The two defendants were part of the "La Luna" case (reftel), involving multiple defendants. One sentenced defendant received the maximum 12 years and the other received six years in prison. The remaining defendants should be brought to trial soon, according to Moreno. ¶3. (U) On April 9 and 17, El Oro province TIP prosecutor Lucy Blacio won the conviction and sentencing of another two TIP defendants. One defendant, a brothel owner, received four years of prison time for sexual exploitation of a minor. The judge did not give the maximum of 12 years in this case, noting that the defendant cooperated in the investigation and claimed he didn't know the girl was underage. Blacio has appealed the sentence, asking that the judge impose the full penalty of 12 years as the law specifies. Another defendant in a separate case received the maximum of 12 years for his role in sexual exploitation of a minor. The evidence revealed that the defendant forced a minor to work in various brothels, supplying her with fake documents in an attempt to falsify her age. ¶4. (U) The GOE continues to make TIP arrests around the country. TIP arrests occurred in April in Santo Domingo, Pichincha province; in Machala, El Oro province; and in Portoviejo, Manabi province. On April 14 national child welfare police agency DINAPEN uncovered a network of brokers in children transported to big cities and forced to beg from motorists on the streets. Hailing mostly from poor indigenous areas, some children were found to be "sold" or "rented" by their parents. Prosecutors in Pichincha and Tungurahua provinces are gathering evidence against organizers. Community leaders have noted that the practice is well known and widespread. GOE Expresses Will to Combat TIP ¶5. (U) In a meeting with representatives of 12 GOE agencies, NGOs and USAID, Natalie Cely, Minister Coordinator for Social Development, expressed the GOE's continued commitment to fighting TIP. In her role as super-minister coordinating the gamut of the GOE's social programs, she evinced an excellent grasp of TIP and a sincere desire to push the National Anti-TIP Plan forward. In a separate meeting with EmbOffs, the deputy and international affairs directors of the Attorney General's office also expressed the will to continue to advance prosecutions of TIP cases nationwide. ¶6. (SBU) Comment: Instability in the attorney general's office and an overburdened and sometimes corrupt judicial system have not stopped the GOE from making a steady stream of arrests and winning a wave of convictions over the past six months. Local prosecutors, police and judges continue to chalk up successes fighting TIP and the new government's leaders have pledged to continue the fight begun under the previous administration. Prosecutors tell us more could be done if judges were less burdened and there were more resources for victim shelters. We will continue to urge progress in these areas and assist where possible. JEWELL