Canadian couple sentenced for child sexual assault in Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo.- A Canadian couple, Adam Eric Pepper and Tracee Lynne Pepper, both aged 35, has been sentenced to several years in prison in the Dominican Republic for sexually assaulting and threatening two minors in Jaracaboa, a town around 150 kilometers north of Santo Domingo, as reported by the Prosecutor’s Office.

The couple recorded the abusive acts, which were discovered in 2021 by the mother of one of the victims, a 12-year-old child, who subsequently reported the incidents. The male defendant, who has been in preventive detention since that year, had threatened the minor, telling him that if he ended up in prison, he would no longer be able to give him gifts, such as the cell phone where the mother found the images of the sexual assault.

The mother revealed that the accused had asked her to leave the child alone with him for more extended periods and to sign a document specifying that if anything happened to her, he and his wife would assume custody of the child.

Tracee Lynne Pepper is accused of touching the minor and recording sexual images of the boy with another minor, aged 13. An aunt of the second victim reported the Canadian citizen, who had threatened the girl with harm to her and her family if she disclosed what had happened.

During a raid on the defendants’ residence in April 2021, the Public Ministry (Prosecutor’s Office) seized various items, including USB flash drives, a professional camera with accessories, high-definition recording equipment, and an underwater digital camera. Videos containing explicit content involving minors were found on these devices.

As a result of these offenses, the Dominican Justice has sentenced the male defendant to seven years in prison and his wife to five years, along with suspension from work, the payment of 10 official minimum wages, and the criminal costs of the legal process. These sentences are for violating various articles of the Dominican Penal Code that deal with sexual threats and assaults, sexual and commercial exploitation, possession of images infringing on the honor and dignity of children, and the production, distribution, acquisition, and possession of child pornography.