Yazmín Morales Camacho, Miss Costa Rica 1994, who accuses Oscar Arias of sexual abuse, says she feels strong, but with “fear of reprisals”, after filing a denuncia (criminal complaint) against the former president and Nobel Laureate on Thursday.
Yazmín, 48, told Nacional that she decided to file a criminal complaint after the denuncia for rape filed on Monday by Dr. Alexandra Arce von Herold.
“If a young woman like her did it, why not me, who represented Costa Rica in beauty contests…I think we have made a lot of progress in raising our voices,” she said.
The former Miss Costa Rica, talking to Ameliarueda.com, on Thursday said “Yes, I filed a denuncia about what happened to me in 2015. At the time it happened, I talked to three lawyers and the three refused to help me denounce it and even recommended not to do so, maybe they were afraid because they told me that ‘they’ knew him (Arias), that’s why I preferred to leave it there, because the three of them told me it was not convenient.
“When I saw what happened with the new girl and the #MeToo movement, I thought I had to have strength because I saw that the issue was habitual in him. I sought two lawyers and they said they would not help me, but I managed to find a third that decided to help me and to accompany me today (Thursday) to file the complaint.”
According to Yazmín, the former president contacted her through Facebook and the events occurred when she went to Arias’ house to pick up a book he was giving her.
“He stood in front of me, blocked the closed, I’m taller than he, however, he grabbed my head by the hair, he forced me closer to him, then with one of his hands he touched my breasts over my clothes and then he kissed me against my will. I froze, I was shocked, I did not know what to say, the only thing I could think to tell him was ‘Don Oscar, I have to go’ I went to the door, he did not say anything to me, he did move away, I did not expect something like that from a person so recognized and who I admired a lot,” says the complaint under filed number 19-98-0994.
In the telephone interview with La Nacion, Yasmín related “it made me feel flattered. He began to like my photos and I told myself: “Oscar Arias follows my publications.”
According to he recollection of that period in 2015, it was through Facebook’s messaging service that Yasmín thanked Arias for following her publications, “I assure you it was a very diplomatic and respectful message for which I said thank you for that gesture”.
She added that, through messenger, Arias asked her for her cell phone number and she gave it to him, assuming that it was logical that a person of that stature would prefer not to handle his communications through a social network. Then, offered the invitation of to go for the book.
Asked why she waited to now, four years laer, to file a complaint, Yasmín said: “I kept silent because we know the fear that his ‘character’ can infuse.”
She added that she made the decision on Tuesday night, on Wednesday she consulted with her family who supported her, “I was very afraid and I really did not sleep well.”
“These incidents are not easy to explain or talk about, it really is not…I’m still scared. I know that the truth is with me but I fear for what is coming,” Yazmín told La Nacion’s Juan Fernando Lara.
This is the second denuncia – formal complaint – and the sixth woman to come forward, accusing Oscar Arias of sexual assault or misconduct.
