Bolivia Investigates The Rape And Murder Of A 12-Year-Old Girl

The Bolivian Prosecutor’s Office investigates the rape and murder of a 12-year-old girl on Tuesday in the Caquiaviri municipality in the La Paz department.

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Shortly after the girl’s family reported her missing, her brother went looking for her. The body appeared with violent signs a few meters away from the family’s house, to which it was moved in a wheelbarrow.

The family denounced the crime before local authorities, who detained a 16-year-old boy as a suspect in the offense for being seen inside the girl’s house when she was alone.

The Forensic Investigation Institute (IDIF) conducted an autopsy revealing that the girl was severely sexually assaulted and died of asphyxiation with a cell phone charger cable.

To expedite investigations, La Paz Departmental Prosecutor William Alave sent an expert team to the crime scene to collect "material and genetic" evidence of the girl and the suspect. He also said that the girl child’s family receives legal assistance from the Comprehensive Justice Services directorate.

Bolivia is one of the most violent countries for women and children. From January to March, the national prosecutor’s office reported 25 femicides and ten infanticides, most perpetrated by a parent or a close person to the victim.

A specialized prosecutor usually assumes these criminal investigations. However, national social organizations condemned that few cases get to have a criminal sanction because the Justice system tends to revictimize people who report these murders.