A judge released the American citizen who was arrested after being implicated in a confusing case of alleged sexual abuse of minors in northern Bogotá. During the hearings, no charges were filed against him, and it was determined that there was insufficient evidence to legalize his arrest.
The case spiraled out of control after the release of a video recorded in an apartment in Usaquén, which raised suspicions of possible sexual abuse against one of his adopted children, a 7-year-old boy.
However, during the legal proceedings, the children were taken to a medical center for examinations, which revealed no sexual violence had occurred.
President Gustavo Petro also commented on the case, providing new details through his social media accounts and stating that the images that initially circulated led to a misinterpretation.
The case spiraled out of control after the release of a video recorded in an apartment in Usaquén, which raised suspicions of possible sexual abuse against one of his adopted children, a 7-year-old boy.
However, during the legal proceedings, the children were taken to a medical center for examinations, which concluded that no sexual violence had occurred.
President Gustavo Petro also commented on the case, providing new details through his social media accounts and asserting that the images that initially circulated led to a misinterpretation. “The American citizen originally from Texas, arrested in an apartment in northern Bogotá, apparently did not rape any of his adopted children in Colombia. He took one of them out onto the balcony because he was choking on his food. The images misled Colombians who went en masse to defend the child,” the president wrote on his Twitter account.
Meanwhile, the director of the Colombian Institute of Family Welfare (ICBF), Astrid Cáceres, stated that there is no preliminary evidence of physical sexual violence against the three children.
The three siblings, ages 5, 7, and 15, remain under the protection of the ICBF after receiving comprehensive care at the Simón Bolívar Hospital, where they underwent medical, psychological, and forensic evaluations following the activation of the protocol known as Code White, used in cases of suspected sexual violence against children and adolescents.
