Colombian teenager escaped 12 years after she was allegedly kidnapped and raped in front of cameras; School bus driver arrested

A Colombian school bus driver was arrested on rape and kidnapping charges after a girl he allegedly kidnapped a decade ago managed to escape, authorities said Thursday.

The victim went missing 12 years ago when she was seven years old.

She escaped in February and reported her abuser, who was arrested in the city of Medellin last week. Statement from the prosecutor’s office in question.

After being abducted, the girl was moved between addresses in Medellin and nearby Bello for years and was allegedly raped on camera.

In the statement, which also included her photo, it was claimed that her captor was Carlos Humberto Grisales Higuita, that he allegedly changed the girl’s name and kept her out of sight and away from school.

The suspect is accused of kidnapping and raping an underage child and producing child sexual abuse materials.

The prosecution said the man “psychologically manipulated” the girl into believing such behavior was normal.

When she was 16, the alleged victim confronted her captor, prompting him to lock her in a house from which she escaped earlier this year, prosecutors said.

The man appeared in court last week and denied all charges. It was decided to keep him in pre-trial detention.

Recent cases of child sexual abuse, including by foreign tourists, in Medellin have sparked a wave of anger in Colombia.

According to municipal data, 139 cases of child sexual abuse were recorded between January and August this year in the city with a population of 2.5 million.

This year, 14 foreigners were arrested in Medellin for sexual abuse of children.

One case in April Arrested American visitor The incident, which he would later release after entering a hotel with two girls, led to the city hall banning street prostitution in tourist areas.

Criminals of sexual assault against children often go unpunished in the country. Citing the Attorney General’s victim database, the nonprofit Colombia Reports reported earlier this year that only 1,389 people had been convicted of sexual violence against children since 2018; This was less than 2% of children examined by doctors for alleged sexual violence during the war. same period.

Accordingly Children Are Changing Colombia200,000 minors are sexually abused in the country every year. 2021 Research on Violence Against Children It found that two-fifths of young people in Colombia had been exposed to violence before the age of 18.