Court records contradict Ministry of Justice version regarding mandatory sentence reductions for sex offenders

An investigative journalism report based on Judiciary records revealed that the Chilean Ministry of Justice litigated to reject sentence reductions for child sex offenders at the beginning of the current administration, obtaining favorable rulings in six out of nine contested cases. These records contrast with statements made by Minister Fernando Rabat before the Chamber of Deputies, where he maintained that the law obligated him to grant such benefits.

On October 29, Minister of Justice Fernando Rabat explained before Parliament that his portfolio modified its initial rejection criteria after receiving an adverse habeas corpus appeal, adopting a doctrine that allows sentence reductions to be granted without litigation. However, the review of case files conducted by CIPER shows that between March and May of this year, the ministry denied requests through decrees that were subsequently backed by the courts.

Out of the nine identified cases in which the ministry contested the reductions in court, six rulings ratified the refusal to grant the benefit, including five rulings issued by the Supreme Court and one by the Court of Appeals of Valparaíso. The most recent ruling favorable to the ministerial stance occurred on June 15, one day before the signing of the first decree under the new doctrine.

Legal specialists and representatives of victim support foundations have questioned the Executive's change in criteria, pointing to the existence of recent judicial precedents in the Supreme Court that supported maintaining the rejection of sentence reductions to protect the rights of children.