The Oral Criminal Court of Cañete sentenced the former mayor of Renaico, Juan Carlos Reinao, for crimes committed against two women, one of whom was a minor. The Prosecutor's Office requested a sentence of 20 years in prison
The government of José Antonio Kast found former Mapuche mayor of the Chilean commune of Renaico, Juan Carlos Reinao, guilty of repeated statutory rape, sexual abuse, and inducing abortion.
The ruling was issued after a judicial process that extended over more than three years, during which the Prosecutor's Office managed to prove the crimes committed against two of the three women who filed accusations against him, one of whom was a minor at the time of the events.
According to the investigation, the events occurred between 2006 and 2020. During the trial, one of the victims testified that, after becoming pregnant, Reinao forced her to take abortifacient medications and subsequently transported her to Ecuador to undergo a clandestine abortion.
President José Antonio Kast
The court found the crimes of statutory rape, sexual abuse, and inducing abortion proven regarding two complainants, while acquitting the former mayor of other charges that could not be proven during the process.
The reading of the sentence was set for August 7. The Prosecutor's Office requested a 20-year prison sentence, while the defense argued that the sentence should not exceed five years with the benefit of supervised release, arguing that Reinao has been in preventive detention for nearly three years since the beginning of the process.
The Mapuche Juan Carlos Reinao served as mayor of Renaico from 2012 and was re-elected in 2016 with a wide majority of votes. Before serving as the communal chief, he had been linked to the Arauco Malleco Coordinator (CAM), a Mapuche terrorist organization, according to evidence presented during police investigations.
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The case generated significant repercussions in Chile due to the political trajectory of the former mayor and the seriousness of the crimes proven by the court. The conviction represents one of the most relevant judicial decisions in recent years against a former municipal authority in the country for sexual crimes.
With the verdict already issued, the process now enters its final stage, in which the court will determine the sentence that the former mayor must serve. Until then, Reinao will remain subject to the current precautionary measures while the parties await the official reading of the sentence.
