US embassy cable - 05QUITO1665

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 001665 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/PPC, WHA/AND, AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, EC, Trafficking 
SUBJECT: ECUADOR:  PROGRESS ON TIP 
 
1.  Summary:  There have been advances on several fronts to 
combat TIP here.  On June 23, Ecuador's new penal code took 
effect, criminalizing and applying prison terms of 6 to 16 
years for traffickers.  First Lady Maria Paret again 
expressed her personal commitment to preventing more children 
from becoming trafficking victims and described an anti-TIP 
radio campaign the GOE is financially supporting.  Attorney 
General Cecilia Armas committed to name special prosecutors 
to focus on TIP in Quito and Guayaquil.  On July 7, police 
arrested John Quispe, the manager of a nightclub and charged 
him with TIP-related crimes.  End Summary. 
 
Tough Sentences for Traffickers 
------------------------------- 
 
3.  On June 23, the President signed anti-trafficking 
legislation into law enabling traffickers to be charged and 
prosecuted.  The law includes the following provisions and 
penalties: 
 
-- Trafficking in persons is defined as the promotion, 
inducement, participation, facilitation, or support, even 
with the victim's consent, of the recruitment, transport, 
harboring, receipt, or delivery of people resorting to 
threats, violence, deceit, or any other fraudulent means for 
the purpose of illicit exploitation, with or without 
financial gain. 
 
--  Exploitation is defined as all forms of forced jobs or 
services; slave labor; sale and/or use people for begging, 
armed conflicts, or recruitment for purposes of delinquency. 
 
-- 6 to 9 years for TIP, excluding cases of sexual 
exploitation; 9 to 12 years when the victim is under 18. 
 
-- 12 to 16 years when one or more of the following 
conditions apply:  the victim is less than 14 years age of 
age; as a result of the crime, the victim suffers severe or 
permanent damage to his/her body or irreversible 
psychological damage; or the trafficker is a spouse, common 
law spouse, blood relative to the fourth degree, or relative 
related by marriage, or a parent or child of the victim. 
 
-- 6 to 9 years for selling, buying, or carrying out any 
other transaction to hand over a person, for payment or other 
means, for the purpose of exploitation.  The sale does not 
have to be completed to be punishable.  9 to 12 years if the 
victim is under 18 years, and 12 to 16 years if the victim is 
less than 12 years old. 
 
Sexual Exploitation and Child Prostitution:  6 to 25 Years 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
4.  Another section of the penal code reform focuses on 
sexual exploitation, punishing people involved in child 
prostitution regardless of the use of force, violence, 
threats, or the victim's consent.  The law reforms the penal 
code as follows: 
 
-- 8 to 12 years for promoting, inducing, participating, 
facilitating, or supporting the recruit, transport, 
harboring, receipt, or handover of a person resorting to 
threats, violence, deceit, or any other fraudulent means for 
the purpose of sexual exploitation. 
 
-- 12 to 16 years if the victim is less than 12 years old; if 
there abuse of power or the victim was in a situation of need 
or vulnerability; if the trafficker is a spouse, common law 
spouse, blood relative to the fourth degree, or relative 
related by marriage; if the trafficker has any type of 
relationship of confidence or authority with the victim or is 
a legal representative, stepfather, stepmother, or priest; or 
if the victim suffers severe or permanent psychological 
damage or contracts a severe or terminal illness. 
 
-- 16 to 25 years if death results. 
 
-- 6 to 9 years, the loss of goods acquired from the profit 
of these crimes, and payment of damages for inducing, 
promoting, supporting, or facilitating the sexual 
exploitation of a person under 18 or a disabled person of any 
age in exchange for monetary gain, other remuneration, or a 
portion of the profits.  12 to 16 years if the victim is 
under 14 years of age, and 16 to 25 years if the person has 
been previously convicted of this crime. 
 
Victim's Consent is Irrelevant for TIP 
-------------------------------------- 
 
5. The following provisions apply to TIP and sexual 
exploitation: 
 
-- Penalties can aggregate up to 35 years. 
 
-- The public behavior of the victim prior to occurrence of 
the crime is irrelevant. 
-- For crimes of sexual exploitation, consent is irrelevant 
when the victim is under 18.  For trafficking, consent is 
irrelevant regardless of the person's age. 
 
First Lady Committed to Preventing More Victims 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
6.  Charge and PolChief met with First Lady Maria Paret on 
July 13 and encouraged her to take advantage of her position 
and speak out publicly against trafficking.  The First Lady 
said she would consider opportunities to do so.  The National 
Institute for Children and Families (INNFA), which she heads, 
signed an agreement and will provide funding to an 
international organization "International Center of Higher 
Studies in Communications for Latin America" (CIESPAL) to 
develop radio spots to educate people about trafficking.  She 
expressed commitment to fighting TIP and helping prevent more 
children from becoming victims. 
 
Attorney General to Name Dedicated TIP Prosecutors 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
7.  On July 12, PolChief and PolOff met with the GOE's acting 
Attorney General, Cecilia Armas, and suggested she assign 
prosecutors to focus on TIP.  Armas was very concerned about 
combating the scourge of trafficking and said she would 
assign a special prosecutor in Quito and in Guayaquil to work 
with the police to prosecute traffickers.  Armas also 
expressed interest in negotiating an agreement with the 
Embassy to demonstrate the GOE's dedication to combating TIP. 
 
 
Trafficker in Jail and Investigation Ongoing 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
8.  On July 7, in a joint effort, the police's vetted unit, 
COAC, and DINAPEN officers arrested trafficker John Quispe. 
A 16-year-old victim of child prostitution was found in the 
nightclub Quispe manages.  Quispe was charged with sexual 
exploitation of a minor, a crime punished by 6 to 9 years 
prison under the new penal code.  We are working closely with 
the prosecutor handling his case to encourage her to add the 
charge of trafficking under the new law.  Quispe has been in 
custody since his arrest, pending investigation of the case. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
9.  We are encouraged by these developments and will report 
more fully on progress achieved by the GOE by July 29. 
HERBERT