The trial of former Tucumán governor José Alperovich for presumed sexual abuse of a niece and ex-aide began Monday, with the ex-senator facing a potential stretch of 15 years in jail if convicted.
Alperovich will be tried by judge Juan María Ramos Padilla of TOC (Tribunal Oral Criminal) 29 in proceedings expected to last between three and four months.
The former senator is accused of sexually abusing his niece, who also worked as his aide, between 2017 and 2019 at his offices in both Tucumán and the Federal Capital.
According to the charge-sheet, Alperovich committed those crimes “via abuse of power and authority, subjecting his victim to outrageous sexual submission due to both the circumstances and the duration.”
The prosecution will be led by Santiago Vismara and Mariela Labozetta, the head of the UFEM (Unidad Fiscal Especializada en Violencia contra las Mujeres) office against gender violence.
Among the 81 witnesses due to testify is Senator Juan Manzur, a former Cabinet chief and also ex-Tucumán governor.
Alperovich had requested a trial by jury, invoking a norm of the City of Buenos Aires, but the court turned him down. He also tried to transfer the case to Tucumán but the court rejected his plea against the jurisdiction of the Federal Capital, where the trial will now proceed.
The trial will have only a single judge due to the consent of both parties, an infrequent mechanism for the trials of this kind of crime.
Alperovich was denounced by his niece in 2019 for alleged sexual abuse in both Tucumán and his Puerto Madero flat in the Federal Capital.
The ex-governor is accused of "two counts of attempted sexual abuse and six counts of sexual violence aggravated by being accompanied by carnal knowledge."
Those abuses, the indictment insists, were committed through “intimidation and the abuse of a relationship [based on] dependence, power and authority.”
'The truth'
Speaking in court on Monday, Alperovich assured that he wants “the truth” about the sexual abuse charges made against him by his niece.
“My lawyers have advised me to testify afterwards. I know everybody will say the same thing but I’m 68 with 11 grandchildren and four children. I want the truth because this has been killing me,” he declared.
After settling down in the dock and following the indications of the judge to speak into the microphone, Alperovich concluded: “With all the respect I have for the Judiciary because I’m law-abiding, I want the truth. I ask you to pay attention to the evidence.”
Prosecutor Sandro Abraldes asked him again about his personal status, to which Alperovich explained that he is a “businessman” and currently a “car-dealer with a real estate enterprise and a cattle-breeding company.”.
Accusations
The former Tucumán senator and three-term governor is accused of sexually abusing his niece while working for him on nine occasions, three in his car while returning from gubernatorial campaign rallies, even when driving when he allegedly touched up his niece several times. The accusation was read out by the court secretary.
The first of the nine episodes occurred in Buenos Aires in one of Alperovich’s two Puerto Madero flats on December 14, 2017.
The young woman, identified in court documents as ‘F. L.’, began to work in the Tucumán civil service in 2011 and six years later became assistant and secretary to then-senator Alperovich.
The second assault allegedly also occurred in a Puerto Madero flat of Alperovich on December 27, 2017.
On February 9, 2018 Alperovich was returning with his niece from a campaign rally in San Pedro de Colalao when he allegedly tried to abuse her. The same thing happened the following day, when they were returning from Simoca and on February 12 that same month, according to the charge sheet.
The worst violent crimes are said to have taken place in March 2018 at Alperovich’s property in Yerba Buena, when he committed in the space of four days variations of sexual abuse with carnal knowledge. The young woman resigned her post on May 24, 2019.
– TIMES/PERFIL
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