A 32-year-old man has been sentenced to 17 years in prison for sexually abusing his 10-year-old niece in the department of Guairá, Paraguay, according to reports confirmed by the Ministerio Público.
The case, investigated by prosecutors Ramón Ferreira and Carlos Cabrera, culminated in a trial that spanned three days, resulting in the conviction and sentencing. Details of the trial proceedings were not immediately available, but the Ministerio Público confirmed the severity of the crime led to the substantial prison term.
The sentencing comes amid broader concerns regarding institutional integrity within the Ministerio Público in Guairá. In February 2025, an investigation was launched into allegations of a scheme involving the sale of evidence held in the department’s public prosecutor’s office. The investigation began following a complaint from a Brazilian citizen who discovered her vehicle, previously impounded as part of a fiscal procedure, being driven by a fiscal assistant, Alba Amarilla. Auditors discovered at least six vehicles, including a large truck, were missing from the evidence depot during a subsequent audit. Documents indicating the fraudulent transfer of vehicles, bearing alleged signatures of current prosecutors, were also found during a search of the depot’s caretaker’s home.
Further complicating the situation, investigations into alleged misconduct by former Guairá Governor Juan Carlos Vera remain stalled. Vera, a member of the ANR-HC party, was removed from office in 2022 following accusations of mismanaging approximately G. 18.500 million (approximately $2.5 million USD), but has not been formally investigated by the Unidad de Delitos Económicos of the Ministerio Público.
Efforts to strengthen the Ministerio Público’s presence in Guairá were recently undertaken with the inauguration of the first Fiscalía Zonal in the department, located in the district of Independencia, in June 2025. The new facility, led by Fiscal Rocío Raquel Rivas and Fiscal Rodrigo Silvano Vázquez Díaz, is intended to improve access to justice in a geographically expansive region previously reliant on the Fiscalía in Villarrica. The Fiscalía Zonal will serve the districts of Independencia, Paso Yobái, Natalicio Talavera, Mauricio José Troche, and Dr. Bottrell.
The Ministerio Público has not released a statement regarding any connection between the sentencing in the abuse case and the ongoing investigations into alleged corruption and mismanagement within the department.
