Deputies approve stiffer penalties for minors in crimes

Santo Domingo.- The Chamber of Deputies yesterday approved an amendment to the Code of the Minor, which increases prison terms from one to 10 years for adolescents from 13 to 15 years of age, and from one to 15, for adolescents 16 to 18, at the time they commit a violation of the law.

The maximum penalty is currently three years for minors 13 to 15 and five years for 16 to 18 year olds.

Among the Code’s amendments figure specialized correctional centers which cannot hold adults, and that the minors can only be incarcerated for committing homicides, permanent physical injuries, rape and sexual aggression, armed robbery and kidnapping.

The amendment to Law 136-03 on Children and Adolescents stipulates a maximum of four months of temporary imprisonment for a minor, and could be replaced by a less severe measure at the request of the parts.

Article 279 of the legislation also stipulates a bone test to establish the age of adolescents, which will prevail over any other means, including birth certificate or cedula (ID).