The Corte de Apelaciones de Valparaíso (Valparaíso Court of Appeals) on Saturday, October 17, upheld the pretrial detention of the last two sailors charged in a gang rape on Rapa Nui (Easter Island). With that ruling, the four members of the Armada (Chilean Navy) formally charged in the case remain in custody for the duration of the investigation.
According to La Tercera, the events took place between Friday, October 2, and Saturday, October 3, at a military facility on the island. Pretrial detention is the most severe precautionary measure in the Chilean criminal justice system. It keeps the accused in custody during the investigation and does not imply a conviction.
The four sailors were formally charged at hearings held on October 4 and October 9 before the Juzgado de Letras y Garantía de Isla de Pascua (Easter Island's local and pretrial court). Being formally charged means the Fiscalía (Public Prosecutor's Office) officially notifies a person that they are under investigation for a crime. At both hearings, the court found there was evidence of the crime and of the involvement attributed to the defendants by the Ministerio Público (Public Prosecutor's Office).
The defense teams appealed. On October 13, the Third Chamber of the Valparaíso court upheld the measure for the first two defendants. On Saturday, the Fourth Chamber, made up of Justice Marcela Figueroa, Justice Germán Núñez and substitute member attorney Felipe Caballero, did the same for the other two.
The Fourth Chamber based its decision on the finding that releasing the defendants would pose a danger to the safety of society and of the victim.
The island court set an 80-day investigation period. It also ordered that the defendants serve their pretrial detention at facilities of the Armada de Chile, in accordance with the law. According to Chilevisión, the four are being held at a naval facility in Talcahuano.
That point opened a second legal front. The complainants petitioned the Tribunal Constitucional (TC, Chile's Constitutional Court) to have the sailors serve the measure in an ordinary prison, arguing that the offense is a common crime, not a military one. The petition will be reviewed by the TC's First Chamber.
The victim's lawyer, Ciro Colombara, described the situation as "an unacceptable privilege". "It is a violation of equality before the law. (...) It is not a military crime, so there is no justification for them to have the privilege of being in a Navy facility," he told La Tercera.
The sources do not include statements from the defense teams or the Navy. The case remains under investigation, and the next concrete step is the review of the petition by the TC's First Chamber.
