Harsher Punishment For Sexual Abuse of Minors
By a unanimous vote the Legislative Assembly approved the "Ley de Fortalecimiento de la lucha contra la explotación sexual de las personas menores de edad" - a law that fights the sexual exploitation of minors.

The law strengthens the existing laws to combat the sexual exploitation of minors with a punishment of three to eight years in prison for any individual who produces or reproduces pornographic material where the image or voice of a minor is used.

The new law would punishes with up to four years in jail for the distribution of and importation of child pornography into the country.

The law also protects minors from being perverted or abused sexually, eliminating the possibility of an abuser to stay out of jail by marrying a minor between the ages of 15 and 18.

Legislator Ana Elena Chacón of the PUSC party who promoted the change said last night that the law will be a great tool to fight impunity and abuse of minors, Cachón added that the laws in the country have been complacent with perpetrators of sex acts against minors.

Mario Viquez, president of the Patranato Nacional de la Infancia (PANI) - the child welfare agency - said that the legislation closes the loophole and that the result is that it will greatly reduce the production of the material.

In brief, the law punishes with prison: rape from 10 to 18 years; sex with a minor from two to six years; child pornography with three to eight years; aggravate corruption and pimping with four to ten years; and the sexual exploitation of minor with two to eight years.

The legislation now waits to be published in the official government publication, La Gaceta.