The Justice Department requested today, Monday, that the case against Elianni Bello Gelabertthe young mother who was criminally prosecuted for taking her three-month-old daughter to the paternal family’s house.
To Bello Gelabert, 22 years old, the Public Ministry filed him on April 9 a charge of negligence under the Law for the Safety, Welfare and Protection of Minors in the Court of San Juan. At that time, the judge Brenda Rivera found cause for arrest and the young woman was jailed after failing to post $50,000 bail.
Bello Gelabert, who is an immigrant, was in an eviction process after the judge Glorianne M. Lotti Rodríguezfrom the same court that imprisoned her, issued a ruling on March 31 in which it gave Bello Gelabert 20 days to leave the residence and pay $590 for rent due.
You can also read: Elianni Bello Gelabert: the story behind an “abandonment”
“After evaluating all the information obtained after the filing of the case and the particular circumstances of Bello Gelabert, we understood that the fairest decision is to stop the criminal process and that the case can be dealt with at the interagency level. Our mission is to do justice and for this we cannot ignore the social aspect and everything that affects a person”indicated in written statements to the press the Secretary of Justice, Domingo Emanuelli Hernandez.
Likewise, the official indicated that they communicated with the Department of the Family to “guarantee the best well-being of the baby and that, in turn, the mother can receive services from the different agencies.”
The case of Bello Gelabert raised debate on social networks and the media. Organizations that defend women’s rights —such as the Feminist Collective in Construction, the Matria Project and the Equity and Gender Observatory— censored the position of the State and questioned why the father of the minor was not charged for, allegedly, neither fulfilling with your duty of care.
Last Monday, the Public Ministry justified its action of filing charges against the young woman. “There are alternatives to take a minor to a safe place when the parents cannot fulfill their responsibility”mentioned the chief prosecutor, Jessica Correa Gonzalezin written statements to the press.
However, since the Feminist Collective under Construction did last week a protest for the case against the young Dominican In front of the headquarters of the Department of Justice, a series of conversations began between Bello Gelabert’s lawyer, Maria Soledad Saezof the Society for Legal Assistance, and the Public Ministry.
The fiscal Frances Ortiz Fernandezcoordinator of the Specialized Unit for Domestic Violence, Child Abuse and Sexual Offenses of the San Juan Prosecutor’s Office, told The new day last Thursday that, after the Justice Department learned all the circumstances of Bello Gelabert’s life, it changed its approach and He considered withdrawing the charges so that the delicate situation can be worked on outside the framework of criminal proceedings.
“When the case was referred by the Police to the San Juan Prosecutor’s Office, the Public Ministry acted to protect a three-month-old minor, whose situation was already under investigation due to previous complaints in the Family Department. The foregoing does not prevent us from re-evaluating the approach we adopted in discharging our ministerial duty”Ortiz Fernandez said today.
For her part, the head of the prosecutors, who had previously justified the action, said this afternoon that, since last week, they were evaluating a non-punitive approach in this case.
“As we have expressed, not in all the cases filed is a prison sentence pursued, but rather that the illegal conduct is not repeated. We trust that the agencies can diligently attend to it and ensure the well-being of the girl and her mother.”said Correa González.
Last Wednesday, the judge Rafael Taboas Davilaof the Court of San Juan, accepted a request from the Public Ministry and reduced to $1.00 the $50,000 bail originally imposed on Beautiful Gelabert.
That same afternoon, the young mother was released from the Correctional Medical Center, located within the Bayamón Correctional Complex. Bello Galabert was summarized in that place after the judge determined that she needed psychological and psychiatric help.
Indeed, the governor Pedro Pierluisi opined earlier today that the Justice Department should drop the charges against the mother.
“That what you have to do here is give support to that lady, to the accused. We must also make sure that the baby’s father is held accountable.”said the president at a press conference in Fortaleza.