Lawmaker faces charges of having sex with minor

Sabaneta, Dominican Republic.- The teenager who accuses the deputy Ramon Antonio Fernandez of statutory rape denies blackmail and instead the then 14 year-old says she sustained the 6-month affair with the lawmaker who advised her not say anything to her family, but was uncovered when her parents found out from a third party.

Darialis Estévez, now 19, said she decided to go public after Fernandez reneged on a notarized agreement to pay her RD$360,000 “to leave things as they are and not damage his political career,” because he was only a candidate at the time.

Sabaneta prosecutor Prospero Peralta confirmed the notarized agreement between the lawmaker and Estevez.

She said when the relationship was discovered Fernandez signed the agreement, to be able to continue with his political aspirations, and that the lawmaker also made a promise to build her a house, which he didn’t keep, and only gave her RD$10,000 during six months, “and 50 cinder blocks.”

Estevez, quoted by news source elcaribe.com.do, said when Fernandez stopped paying her the money monthly, she decided to take him to court in Montecristi, but the judge dismissed the charges, for which she opted to take her case to the Supreme Court.

She said she expects justice from the Supreme Court despite the influence exerted by Fernandez’s, who allegedly pressured her psychologically to drop the charges. “He pressured me to say nothing, at six months it was discovered when I was 15, but I was still a minor and couldn’t defend myself like I’m doing now.”