The media impact generated following the arrest of two Cobreloa cadets on Thursday, July 25, invites a detailed examination of the case.
The reason for their arrest is linked to sexual offenses, marking the second time in a year, which escalates the severity of the situation.
The details of the legal circumstances in the Cobreloa case
In light of the facts, criminal lawyer Ramón Sepúlveda Castillo provided details regarding the legal circumstances surrounding the case involving the loíno club.
“In our criminal system, the sanctions for the crime of rape are extremely high, which, when compounded with the aggravating factors of acting in a group and premeditation—circumstances invoked by the prosecution—can increase the penalties even further, reaching up to 15 years of imprisonment. The specific penalties that may be determined by the oral court that hears the trial will depend on the particular facts of this case, in which the court must also take into account the psychological or mental impact on the victim, as stipulated in Article 369 Bis A of the Penal Code regarding penalties,” he began.
Along the same lines, he noted that the defense theory will be crucial in guiding the investigation and determining events chronologically.
“As in any criminal process, the oral court will need to analyze the defense theory, which will undoubtedly attempt to assert that there was consent and that not all had the same level of participation, but this is a substantive discussion that will take some time, as this is a complex case with an investigation that has only just begun a couple of months ago,” Sepúlveda explained.
The key lies in the state of the case in the Cobreloa case
The Central North Prosecutor’s Office established a 60-day deadline for the investigation of the case, prompting the criminal lawyer to address the key role that the state of the case will play.
“Regarding the state of the case, there is currently an ongoing investigation in which there must be a significant number of proceedings in all directions, as this is a case that will discuss very relevant issues that will be informed by the results of the actions taken during this phase, in which the defendants remain in pretrial detention. Given the nature of the case, it is very complex for this to change, as the severity of the penalties and the particular circumstances suggest that for the court, there is no other coercive measure that ensures the purposes of the procedure, at least for those considered to be material authors, which is a distinction the court made with the only defendant who was released.
The turning point concerning the Cobreloa detainees necessitates analyzing the case specifically due to their age
Despite sharing similar complexities with the previous criminal case in Cobreloa this year, the difference lies with the individuals involved, who in this case are minors, a significant detail in the protective measures that may be determined.
“Regarding the new charges involving minors as the alleged authors of these crimes, while the penalties may be lower, the protective measures also have a lower standard concerning the requirements for their application. Therefore, if formal charges are brought, the defendants could indeed be subject to provisional internment, which is a parallel to preventive detention for adults,” he concluded.
