The Court of Criminal Cassation of the province of Buenos Aires suspended the hearing scheduled for tomorrow in which the request for acquittal for the music teacher was going to be discussed Lucas Manuel Puigsentenced in the first instance to 35 years in prison, after being found guilty of sexually abusing minors who attended the Kindergarten of the San Benjamín de Los Hornos School, between 2009 and 2010.
The call was scheduled for this Thursday, March 23 at 11:00 a.m. at the headquarters of Calle 43 between 12 and 13, where Room V of that higher court was going to hear the defense and prosecution arguments, but that body is disintegrated by the retirement of judges and the dismissal with subsequent arrest of the former magistrate Martin Manuel Ordoqui.
For more than four years, that Chamber has been operating through a system of integration with judges from other Chambers, but on this occasion the body presents a reality with the full-agenda magistracy. Given this scenario, the appointment of a new hearing date is expected, after coordination of case agendas, judicial sources informed 0221.com.ar.
After the sentence handed down by the Oral Criminal Court I of La Plata, the defense presented a habeas corpus to achieve the freedom of his assistant, understanding that he was always available to justice and that there are no procedural risks. Despite the new effort on the part of that party, the La Plata justice once again confirmed that Puig will continue behind bars serving the sentence imposed, at least until a higher court rules otherwise.
After the appeal filed before the higher court, from Chamber V of Cassation it was ordered that the hearing be held “with the appearance of the accused and the parties”, as detailed in the judicial document accessed by this medium. It is a hearing to improve the appeal against the sentence handed down that was already presented after the conviction. But a new meeting date is awaited.
The sentence to the music teacher came out unanimously by the Court for “abuse sexual with seriously insulting carnal access aggravated by being in charge of their education in ideal contest with corruption of minors aggravated by being in charge of their education” in both cases, while the immediate arrest was ordered. Puig, who had arrived at the trial free after being acquitted in another trial held in 2015, has already been left behind bars.
After the sentence handed down on August 30, 2022, a teaching sector carried out a 24-hour strike in repudiation of the judicial decision. The measure of force was criticized both by mothers and fathers of students and from another educational sector.
On other occasions they held mobilizations in the town of Los Hornos and at the headquarters of the Court of Cassation to express their support for Puig, who was prosecuted by the prosecutor Virginia Bravo. In the oral trial the accusation was sustained by the prosecutor Martin Chiorazzi and the lawyers Flavio Gliemmo, Marcelo Botindari, Martin Bolpe y Julio Beley.
In addition, the new investigation is already underway that points to the alleged responsibility of another teacher from the San Benjamín School as a possible co-author or concealer of the events for which Puig was convicted.
