Thursday, November 14, 2024

Federal deputy accused of sexual assault by 15-year-old won’t run for reelection

A federal deputy with the ruling Morena party has decided not to stand for reelection at the upcoming elections amid accusations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy.

Morena announced Thursday night that Saúl Huerta, a deputy from Puebla, had resigned as a candidate for the June 6 elections, at which the entire lower house of Congress will be renewed.

The announcement came after audio was broadcast by Imagen Televisíon in which a teenage boy accuses Huerta of drugging him and assaulting him at a hotel in the Mexico City neighborhood of Juárez on Wednesday.

The youth, who was apparently working with the 63-year-old lawmaker, said Huerta gave him a soft drink that tasted “bitter,” adding that when he got out of a car upon arriving at the hotel, he felt “very dizzy” and could barely walk.

He said the deputy told him that he would rent two rooms but he only paid for one with one bed. The 15-year-old said that he lay down on the bed because he was feeling ill and that Huerta went to the bathroom.

Morena Party leader in the lower house of Congress Ignacio Mier Velazco declined to comment on Huerta's case, calling it unrelated to Huerta's position.
The Morena party leader in the lower house of Congress, Ignacio Mier Velazco, declined to comment on Huerta’s case, calling it unrelated to Huerta’s position.

When the lawmaker exited, the youth said, the man was completely naked.

The teenager said Huerta pulled his pants down and guided his hand to his penis while using his own hand to masturbate him.

Imagen Televisíon also published audio of a telephone conversation between Huerta and the boy’s mother. In the conversation, the deputy attempts to reach a financial settlement with the woman to put an end to the scandal.

“Don’t destroy me,” he pleads with her on repeated occasions. “Let’s reach an economic agreement. … I’m begging you, help me; you’re going to destroy me. I’m a good person,” Huerta said.

The lawmaker was arrested at the hotel after the teenager managed to alert the manager that he had been sexually assaulted. Police took Huerta to the offices of the Mexico City Attorney General’s Office (FGJ), but he was later released because, as a deputy, he has immunity from prosecution, known as the fuero.

The FGJ said it was continuing its investigation and would seek to have the lawmaker’s immunity removed if there was sufficient evidence against him.

Huerta, who participated virtually in a lower house session just hours after he was released from custody, later claimed that he had been a victim of an extortion and blackmail attempt in which he was “falsely” accused of abusing the boy. He claimed that the alleged victim was examined and that experts found no evidence of an assault. The deputy rejected the claim that he had used his fuero to escape custody.

Despite Morena Secretary-General Citlalli Hernández having called on Huerta to take a temporary leave of absence while the case was investigated, Morena’s leader in the lower house of Congress declined to comment on Thursday about the accusations Huerta faces or discipline him, saying that the alleged incident was part of his personal life and not related to his duties as a deputy.

“I can’t offer an opinion on personal things, not of him nor any other members of the Chamber of Deputies,” Ignacio Mier Velazco told reporters.

Asked whether he would seek Huerta’s resignation, Mier said:

“He didn’t do it [commit the alleged assault] in his role as a federal deputy; he did it in his personal life. I repeat, in the personal lives of deputies, I can’t get involved.”

Morena should be asked about the matter, Mier said, stressing that he is not the leader of the party.

Morena Secretary-General Citlalli Hernández called on Wednesday for Huerta to take a leave of absence from his post.
Morena Secretary-General Citlalli Hernández called for Huerta to take a leave of absence from his post.

Morena subsequently announced on Twitter that Huerta had “definitively” and “irrevocably” resigned his candidacy for deputy at the June 6 elections, i.e., he voluntarily decided not to stand for reelection.

Morena did not force him to relinquish his candidacy, nor did it demand that he step down from his position, which he will continue to hold until the end of August.

Later on Thursday night, Mier clarified his position with regard to the allegations: “As coordinator of the Morena deputies, I express my repudiation of any act that is a crime against a minor,” he wrote on Twitter.

“Law enforcement authorities must investigate under the principles of presumption of innocence and due process. The Chamber of Deputies doesn’t have the power to exercise a process of desafuero [the removal of immunity] except through the request of the Attorney General’s Office or a judge,” Mier added.

“In the case of Saúl Huerta,” he said, “we will remain attentive and assist in whatever is required by the ministerial authorities.”

Source: El Universal (sp), Sin Embargo (sp)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Ontario, Canada Prime Minister Doug Ford standing at a podium with the logo of the Labourers International Union of North America giving a speech. Behind him are two men watching on

Ontario premier suggests Canada end free trade with Mexico

6
Accusing Mexico of helping China skirt heavy Canadian and U.S. tariffs, Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling for an end to the USMCA.
A person shops at a local market in Mexico City.

Sheinbaum, business sector agree to lower basic food prices

1
“We want prices to come down for consumers, especially for those who don't have much,” Sheinbaum said Wednesday.
Germán Reyes Reyes, a former army captain who became interim head of the Chilpancingo Public Security Ministry on Sept. 30, was detained by state and federal security forces for the murder of Alejandro Arcos Catalán

Chilpancingo security chief arrested for mayor’s murder

1
The deceased mayor's decapitated body was found inside his pickup truck in the state capital of Chilpancingo, Guerrero, on Oct. 6.