QCOSTARICA – An official of the Judicial Inspection office of the Supreme Court (Inspección Judicial de la Corte Suprema de Justicia), who is also the son of Justice Jesus Ramirez, faces an investigation for using an official government vehicle to visit a brothel.
During a surveillance last Wednesday (May 6) of one of the homes alleged to be a brothel, officers of the Organismo de Investigación Judicial (OIJ) noticed Jesus Ramirez Campos, 45, arriving at the scene in an official government vehicle, went in and then left 30 minutes later.
The home was one of four in Heredia and Alajuela to be raided by the OIJ in their sexual exploitation case, after a number of women filed complaints of being verbally and physically abused by their employers and forced to have sex with clients, although they had been hired for domestic work (maids).
In the raid, a man and two women were arrested on suspicion of human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
See “Women Hired As Domestics Forced To Have Sex With Clients” story here.
Back to Ramirez.
After the raid, the OIJ referred the case of the official to the Fiscalía Adjunta de Probidad, Transparencia y Anticorrupción (anti-corruption prosecutor’s office), who confirmed on Monday that a formal investigation of the official has been opened.
Under the Criminal Code, if found guilty, Ramirez faces from three months to two years in prison.
Judge Ramirez lamented the situation, saying that as a parent he is upset, but as a magistrate, believes the law should be applied “regardless of how it is plays out.”
But, this is not the first time the younger Ramirez is under investigation: in 2011, he was investigated for altering figures on expense accounts and time off work without permission.
In that case, the Inspección Judicial, found Ramirez in violation and issued a dismissal; however, the Consejo Superior, changed the punishment to a 30 day suspension without pay.
No surprise here…do as we say, not as we do!
Wait a second, the penalty for personal use of a government vehicle is three months to two years in jail? What if the guy was only picking up his laundry or stopping at a convenience store for snacks, would he still be looking at jail time?
I’m just a little loss as to what the charge really is. Personal use of government vehicles is not a good thing, but I’m sure it happens all the time and don’t understand the stiff penalty. This is the kind of thing employees are fired or demoted for doing, not sent to jail.