MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Monsalve will remain in custody until Tuesday's hearing

Monsalve will remain in custody until Tuesday's hearing

A judge in Santiago Friday adjourned until next Tuesday the arraignment hearing of former Interior Undersecretary Manuel Monsalve, who has been charged with allegedly raping a member of his staff. Whether he would also be held accountable for the abuse of power he is believed to have exerted to conceal the facts is to be decided at another stage. In the meantime, Monsalve will remain in custody at an Investigative Police (PDI) detention facility after being arrested on Thursday at his Viña del Mar home.

After Friday's statement by the prosecution, it was also ruled at Monsalve's defense's request that the proceedings go on behind closed doors to protect the presumption of innocence and avoid re-victimization of the plaintiff. The Socialist physician faces up to 15 years in prison. It was also his legal team that petitioned the adjournment.

The victim claims to have no recollection of the alleged Sept. 22 events other than the fact that she woke up in a hotel bed with signs of having been sexually assaulted.

Prosecutor Xavier Armendáriz told Judge Mario Cayul's court that the defendant was at the time of the events a high-profile “authority” who had held the position of Undersecretary of the Interior since March 11, 2022. He resigned on Oct. 17, three days after his actions were reported and his attempts to conceal them failed. The State's representative also underscored that Monsalve was the “hierarchical superior” of the victim, identified with the initials C.B.L.P.

Also Friday, Monsalve's counselor María Inés Horvitz told reporters that she feared for her client's safety and suggested that “house arrest would be ideal.” She also highlighted that certain precautions should be taken given Monsalve's past as a former Undersecretary who has always cooperated with the courts. “We want him to have personal security. Because as a former undersecretary and as a person of high public knowledge, we fear for his personal safety,” the attorney said.