The English teacher suspected of sexually abusing children at a kindergarten in San Nicolás de Ibarra will remain in jail for six months while the case continues under investigation, a judge at Chapala’s regional criminal court ruled last week.
The accused has been identified only as Ana “N”, 29, a Mexican citizen with a domicile in Chapala. (According to law, full names of criminal suspects are generally withheld until a conviction is emitted.)
She was arrested in the early hours of July 18 at an address in Buenavista, located on the outskirts of Ixtlahaucán de los Membrillos.
At a preliminary hearing held July 20, the presiding judge ruled that prosecutors presented sufficient evidence linking her to the presumed abuse of at least three of her young pupils.
She will be held in preventive custody until January 19, 2018, when a second hearing is scheduled to determine whether she will face formal charges of aggravated sexual abuse.
The judge also issued a warrant allowing investigators to search the teacher’s home for incriminating evidence, specifically targeting electronic devices that may contain images of the youngsters used for disseminating child pornography. Results of the search have not been made public.
Meanwhile, the scandal is taking on wider dimensions as sources close to the case reveal that parents of as many as 15 students have filed formal complaints alleging that their offspring were subjected to inappropriate touching, forced to perform lewd acts and photographed during class hours at the Fray Juan Ruiz de Cabañas y Crespo pre-school. About 50 students were reportedly enrolled in pre-school grades two and three at the time.
The criminal inquiry extends to two male suspects known as Juan and Pablo who have been identified as having participated in photographing the children. Their full names and whereabouts are unknown.
In addition, a number of public officials are under investigation for possible dereliction of duty or direct involvement in criminal acts against the children.
Jalisco’s Ministry of Education (SEP) has suspended all three teachers and an administrative assistant employed at the kindergarten where the alleged incidentsoccurred. They and the school zone inspector are all said to be under scrutiny by investigators. The school is currently closed for the summer break, to be reopened with new staff for the 2017-2018 term.
Chapala Mayor Javier Degollado has deposed Gilberto Cárdenas Toscano, a lawyer appointed as executive council secretary for the Municipal System of Protection of Children and Adolescents. According to the City Hall press office, while he has not been named in the criminal complaints, he has been ordered to bow out while the probe continues. Parents of several children claim that when Cárdenas was assigned to chauffer them to Guadalajara last April for forensic examinations, he attempted to intimidate them, employing veiled threats so they would remain silent and back off their pursuit of justice.
Desperate parents have also appealed to Jalisco’s Human Rights Commission (CEDH) in an effort to halt official foot-dragging and mishandling of the case. Among public officials named in the CEDH complaint is Gabriela Jiménez Ibarra, the agent at Chapala’s Ministerio Público (public prosecutor’s office), who originally registered the formal complaint.
The allegations spelled out in the complaint filed back in early April were not widely known beyond the boundaries of San Nicolás, until Guadalajara media outlets put a spotlight on the case two weeks ago.