The former deputy inspector of the Córdoba Police sexually abused five women at the Río Cuarto detention center
Compartir:
A former sub-inspector of the Córdoba Police was sentenced to 12 years in prison for raping women detained at the Río Cuarto police station. The verdict was handed down by the Second Criminal Chamber, following a trial in which the victims and witnesses testified. The court found it proven that the defendant used his authority to commit the abuses.
The convicted man, identified as Daniel Heredia Nas, was found guilty of aggravated sexual abuse, repeated and qualified by his status as a public official. The sentence was issued after analyzing medical evidence, internal records, and security camera footage. The ruling includes a lifetime disqualification from holding public office.
The trial centered on six complaints filed by five women who were attacked during 2024 while they were in custody. Two of the victims were pregnant at the time of the abuses, which aggravated the former officer's legal situation.
Según la investigación fiscal, Heredia aprovechaba momentos de guardia en los que no podía ser advertido por sus compañeros para someter a las detenidas.
Details of the investigation and victims' testimonies
According to the prosecutor's investigation, Heredia took advantage of guard shifts when he could not be noticed by his colleagues to assault the detainees. He offered them cigarettes or phone calls in exchange for sexual favors, abusing his position of power. The accounts coincided in describing a pattern of manipulation and threats.
One of the women reported that the police officer woke her up during the night, grabbed her by the hair, and forced her to have intercourse under threat of harming her daughter. "I wouldn't wish it on anyone: I know I was detained for my mistakes, but he treated me like garbage," the victim told the press. The statement was key to supporting prosecutor Javier Di Santo's accusation.
Heredia Nas was arrested in May 2024, after the first complaints that triggered the judicial investigation became known. Since then, he has remained in pretrial detention and during the trial admitted the facts before the court.
El condenado, identificado como Daniel Heredia Nas, fue hallado culpable de abuso sexual gravemente ultrajante, reiterado y calificado por su condición de funcionario público.
A ruling that exposes structural failures in the penitentiary system
Judge Pablo Bianchi emphasized the seriousness of the crimes committed by an official responsible for the custody of people deprived of liberty. He also stressed the need to strengthen control mechanisms in police facilities.
The case once again brought to the forefront the conditions of detention in Córdoba and the lack of effective protocols to prevent abuse in public institutions.
