The Monsalve case: the raw story of Prosecutor Armendariz

Monsalve is being accused North Central Metropolitan Prosecutor’s Office for the crimes of Rape of an adult and sexual exploitation of a person over 14 years of age, In both degree of overall development and authorship. The man who until a month ago was the “sheriff” of La Moneda faces the threat of 15 years in prison.

Before the judiciary broadcast was cut off and journalists were invited to leave Room 103 of Building C of the Santiago Justice Center, Prosecutor Armendariz described the events under investigation.

Armendariz indicated before the court that the Public Ministry had come to formalize the investigation by informing the accused Manuel Zacarias Monsalve Benavides Why is he being investigated?

Before going into details, he explained what he was going to convey regarding each point. It must be considered as a basic fact, that at the time the events under investigation occurred, the accused “was a high public authority.” Who held the post of Under Secretary of Internal Affairs from March 11, 2022, a post he held till October 17 when he resigned due to the complaint.

“Similarly, noting that the victim, of legal age, was performing consultant work in the Office of the Under Secretary of the Interior, pursuant to a lump sum fee agreement with the initials CBLP, at the time of the incidents on January 1, 2024, The accused was then working as his hierarchical superior.“, he said.

Then, the Prosecutor investigated the complaint in depth and reiterated the allegations in detail. Some portions of the audio of the harasser’s presentation had to be cut off in the broadcast by the Judicial Branch channel.

“Fact number one. On September 22, 2024, at approximately 6:00 pm, the accused Manuel Zacarias Monsalve Benavides met the victim with the initials already indicated and they went to the restaurant. Mysterious dried chili peppers, Located at 366 Enrique Mac Ivar Street in the commune of Santiago, where he consumed food and wine. hours later, The victim was seriously affected by excessive alcohol consumption, so the accused took her to room number 719 of the Panamericano Hotel. Rosa Rodríguez in the commune of Santiago is located on route number 1314, which corresponds to his place of residence, where at an undetermined time in the morning of September 23 the accused Monsalve Benavides physically agreed (…) Taking advantage of this fact, the victim with the initials already indicated “Due to excessive alcohol consumption, she had lost her senses and was unable to even protest.” he explained.

“It is an illegal crime of rape of an adult, in accordance with the provisions of Article 15, number 1 of the same legal body, with participation as author, provided for in Article 361, second paragraph of the Penal Code and Has been punished.” In one degree of complete development”, Pure.

Fact 2 came to fruition, prosecutor said “Indefinitely” Morning of 23 September. That day, Monsalve, as Surrogate Minister of Internal Affairs, scheduled an activity to evaluate security during national holidays. At 7:55 am, one of the journalists from the portfolio’s communications team wrote to the press in a WhatsApp group: “Good morning colleagues: We are sad to inform that the Under Secretary will not be able to participate in the balance sheet,

According to the prosecutor, that day the complainant woke up in bed in Monsalve’s room, “her lower body was naked, she was wearing only a sleeveless vest, she was feeling dizzy and had severe pain in her vagina and head. , confused in time and space, unable to remember what had happened in the previous hours, she noticed vomit and blood stains on both herself and the bed sheets, realizing that the accused was Manuel Zacarias. Monsalve Benavides was lying next to her, also naked. He approached the victim and, taking advantage of his state of stupor and confusion, caused force and impact resulting from being awake in these circumstances, and Without any consent, he committed acts of sexual significance and relevance.

“The victim was unable to resist given the indicated state of stupor and confusion in which he was found,” He added.

The Prosecutor pointed out that this corresponds to the crime of sexual exploitation of persons over the age of 14 with full degree of development and the accused would be criminal.