Ex-Mexico City Political Leader Still in Jail for Hiring Women to Have Sex With Him, Paying Them Through Party Payrolls
Mexico City prosecutors on Tuesday said a judge has ordered a former political leader to be held in jail while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
According to ABC News, Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez used to be the Mexico City leader of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, which ruled Mexico for most of the 20th century.
The city prosecutor's office noted that Gutierrez would be held in jail while being tried on four counts of attempted human trafficking "in the commission of aggravated sexual exploitation, as well as criminal conspiracy and other charges.
The charges were based on allegations that came up in 2014 that his office hired women to have sex with him and placed them on payrolls of the party. Gutierrez resigned following reports. At the time, prosecutors said they did not have enough evidence to bring the case to trial, but it was later re-opened.
In 2014, a story was aired in the MVS radio station, wherein an undercover reporter recorded conversations with recruiters at Gutierrez's office.
The recruiters were telling the women that they would have to have sex with the former political boss if given a job as secretaries or receptionists, according to Border Report.
The report noted that Gutierrez recruited women for the positions through newspaper ads that offered "women to work in government offices."
Gutierrez denied the allegations at the time. He was long known as "The King of Trash" as his family once led an association of the city's garbage-pickers.
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The Arrest of Former Political Leader in Mexico
Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez was arrested at his residence in Mexico City on December 29 after the government's anti-money laundering froze his bank accounts.
In a statement, the Mexico City Office of the Attorney General said the intelligence work between the Attorney General's Office for the Investigation of Trafficking Persons, the National Intelligence Center, and the Special Reaction and Intervention Group allowed the seizure of Gutierrez.
Daily Mail reported that women between the ages of 18 and 32 were hired through misleading job listings for a prostitution ring that Gutierrez allegedly operated.
The classified ads offered hostess, receptionist, or administrative assistant positions at the Institutional Revolutionary Party's headquarters with monthly salaries between 8,000 to 14,000 Mexican pesos.
Radio Reporter Went Undercover and Secretly Taped Conversation With Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez's Staff
The radio reporter who went undercover had a conversation with one of the women who had been hired. The woman admitted that she was required to give oral or vaginal sex to her boss, Cuauhtemoc Gutierrez.
She added that she could possibly take home 11,000 Mexican pesos tax-free per month in addition to tips. Reports said the political party had quickly cut ties with Gutierrez hours after the scandal broke.
Three women who have been hired told authorities that they were required to dress in skirts, dresses, and heels and have sex with Gutierrez.
In March, arrest warrants were issued against four other employees of the Institutional Revolutionary Party in connection with the human trafficking and prostitution ring.
Among those who were arrested was former Senate candidate Claudia Priscila Martínez Gonzalez. She was arrested in Mexico last September and was charged with human trafficking and criminal association.
Martínez Gonzalez allegedly oversaw the publishing of job listings in newspapers and online sites, according to prosecutors.
Institutional Revolutionary Party's office assistant Adriana Rodriguez Regalado, who was tasked with leading the recruitment of women, was also arrested in March, while congresswoman Sandra Esther Vaca Cortes and former party finance director Roberto Zamorano remain at large.
Meanwhile, Gutierrez's lawyer Lazaro Tapía told Radio Formula on Thursday that his client's arrest was illegal and that police overstepped its boundaries.
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This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: Cuauhtémoc Gutiérrez, Exlíder Del PRI, Se Queda en Prisión; Lo Acusan De Trata De Personas - From El Universal
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