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Taxi Drivers To Report Cases Of
Sexual Exploitation of Minors
Asking a taxi driver to take you
to a place where there are
minors present or boarding a
taxi with a minor can land you
in the hands of the police, as
the "flotilla roja" (red wave),
will now have the responsibility
to report the action to the
Ministerio Público and the
Patronato Nacional de la
Infancia (PANI).
The announcement was made
jointly by the president of the
Asociación Costarricense de
Profesionales en Turismo (Acoprot),
Patricia Dura and the director
of the Fundación Paniamor,
Milena Grillo.
"Tourism attracts sexual
predators. We want to put a stop
to that and would like Costa
Rica to be a model example of
the fight against sexual
exploitation", said Dura.
For her part, Grillo, said that
finally the Costa Rican
government has recognized the
problem with the sexual
exploitation of minors as a
crime.
Currently, the Ministerio
Público is investigating 17
cases against tourists whose
intention was to exploit
children. The majority of the
tourists who come to sexually
exploit minors come from the
United States, Canada and
Germany, said Grillo.
The largest problem is in the
Área Metropolitana (San José)
and the developed tourist areas.
Grillo added that many
condominium apartments near the
beaches are rented temporarily
by sexual predators as a place
where they can comfortably take
their victims. Grillo said the
highest group at risk are those
16 and 17 years of age.
Grillo said that during this
year, there will be a heavy
radio, television and print
campaign to bring the problem to
the conscience of the public and
to report the problem that has
now become serious.
Posters at hotels and tourist
locations, as well as notices in
tourist magazines, will mention
that the sexual exploitation of
minors is punished in Costa Rica
with up to 16 to 40 years in
jail, depending on the severity
of the exploitation.
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