The third hearing for the trial against former senator and former Tucuman governor
José Alperovich
, accused of
sexual abuse
, took place this morning in Oral Court No. 29. The complainant's mother, two friends, a former co-worker and a journalist gave their testimony.
The five recounted in detail the characteristics of the period of time, between 2017 and 2018, in which the young woman worked alongside former senator Alperovich.
From an
abrupt weight loss, health problems, hair and nail loss and overwhelming stress
, were some of the characteristics expressed by the witnesses of the third day.
"The mother agreed with the grandmother's story: they described her concerns and the deterioration that the young woman went through," they confided to
Clarín
.
In addition, a person who had suffered a personal situation confided his story to the young woman.
That generated a bond of close trust between them and she also confessed to him what she had been experiencing since she worked with Alperovich.
The witnesses talked about how her personality changed during the time she worked for him, and described her as "saturated with work, with a bad physical appearance and a notable deterioration in her health."
"The stories were in the same sense as what the victim declared and the
psychophysical damage caused by the abuse.
The witnesses are linear in this sense," they anticipated.
The next hearing will be on Thursday, February 29 and it is not clear if witnesses for the prosecution will continue to testify or if some of the defense will begin.
Trial against Alperovich: three keys
For the accusing party, it will be key to provide testimonies that in some way support the victim's statements.
The complainant's accusation is forceful, precise and sustained in relation to the acts of abuse.
According to the complaint, they occurred
between December 14, 2017 and March 26, 2018, San Miguel de Tucumán and Yerba Buena;
and in an apartment in Puerto Madero.
The witnesses, at the time, confirm a physical, psychological deterioration and in family relationships that the young woman had manifested during that time.
Others, without knowing what was happening to her, noticed the distance from her and also the ordeal that she experienced, with strategies that she used to evade the abuse.
These testimonies are essential to show Judge Juan María Ramos Padilla the consistency of the victim's story, which was also precise and without contradictions.
Alperovich's defense tried from the first moment to divert the accusation and refer to an "operation" to politically "bury" the former leader of Tucumán, who
never resigned his seat as senator
but had to take leave after it was known. the complaint.
Another fundamental point will be the medical expertise in the next stage of the trial.
The thing is that they all coincide with the story of the victim and also the witnesses.
Furthermore, for the accusing party it is key to determine the bond of familiarity that existed between Alperovich and the complainant, the friendship of the families and the
uncle-niece treatment
they had, to prove the use of that context as a tool of submission.
Likewise, the third key point for the trial will be the witnesses from the work environment and the Senate who will also be summoned to relate situations that coincide with the victim's story by dates or events.
There are also
chats and text messages
that confirm the young woman's version.
The complaint
The complaint was made in 2019 and the victim expressed herself on several occasions through letters.
She is now in the final stretch of her pregnancy and is not present during the trial hearings.
Neither does Alperovich, who connects via zoom from Tucumán.
The National Criminal and Correctional Prosecutor's Office 10, led by prosecutor Santiago Vismara, and the Specialized Prosecutorial Unit for Violence against Women (UFEM), led by Mariela Labozzetta, intervened in the investigation.
In May 2022, the prosecution had considered that "in all cases, mediating intimidation for his commission", the former senator "abused a relationship of dependency, power and authority."
The head of the Prosecutor General's Office No. 27 before the TOC, Sandro Abraldes, intervenes as trial prosecutor;
The defense is headed by Augusto Nicolás Garrido, and the complaint is headed by Pablo Rovatti and Carolina Cymerman, belonging to the Legal Assistance and Sponsorship Program for Victims of Crime of the Office of the General Defender of the Nation.
MG