Devastating shelter reports from ombudsman and prosecutor

Reports delivered on Tuesday, March 9, by Attorney General Javier Caraballo and Ombudsman Eduardo Leblanc paint a grim picture of Panama’s government-supervised children’s shelters.

Caraballo said that 18 investigations are underway for alleged abuses in shelters and inspections have been carried out in 57 of the centers and 20  children have been relocated. Five people have been charged

Leblanc said that they made inspections in 44 shelters and found that 70% lack suitable personnel.

“In these shelters there are children who reach the age of majority and the responsible authorities do not follow up on these cases, including the Secretariat for Children, Adolescents and the Family (Senniaf).”

The report states that shelter staff admits that there is little monitoring by Senniaf and that some of the buildings are in poor condition.

Caraballo said that as part of the investigations carried out by the MP, prosecutors have interviewed at least 280 minors who remain in the 57 shelters.

To date, five people have been charged with crimes ranging from embezzlement to rape and child abuse,  although this figure could increase in the coming days.

He acknowledged that, on occasions, judicial investigations do not proceed at the speed demanded by the community, but affirmed that they are working to clarify the facts and bring those responsible for the abuses to justice.

 Ombudsman, Leblanc, revealed that 70% of the 44 shelters inspected do not have suitable personnel to care for minors. Psychologists, health personnel, and social workers, among other professionals, are lacking, he said.

Leblanc warned that there are minors who reach adulthood inside shelters without the competent authorities finding),  a home for them, and said that among those authorities is Senniaf which does not follow up on the cases.

Another of the anomalies reported is the little access to education for young people in the centers.

Rape charge

Meanwhile, a guarantee judge yesterday ordered the provisional detention of a man allegedly involved in the rape of a minor under 14 years of age, in a rehabilitation center for adults with drug addictions. located in Las Garzas de Pacora. The adolescent was taken to the home from a shelter under the supervision of Senniaf.

Sources linked to the investigation said that this center provided assistance not only to men addicted to drugs, but also to women, including prostitutes.

Among the evidence provided by the prosecution is the testimony of one of the managers of the rehabilitation center, in which he specified that minors were not welcomed in that place, but at the request of the Senniaf they received the aforementioned group.

The victim is a 14-year-old indigenous youth who was orphaned at the age of 2 and has a certain degree of disability. According to the investigation, the victim was abused at least three times