Two minor children, an eight-year-old boy and a twelve-year-old girl, were raped by their father, once and multiple times over several years, respectively. The defendant was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but the criminal court of appeals reduced the sentence to 19.6 years in prison on October 11, 2001, after finding that the 20-year sentence was impermissible under Paraguay’s sentencing guidelines.
Interlocutory Order No. 554 (2025), the defendant was subject to criminal proceedings due to having undergone an abortion, after she was admitted to the emergency room for complications related to a suspected abortion. The Public Ministry requested suspension of criminal proceedings against the defendant, as permitted under Article 21 of Paraguay’s Penal Code, which states that a person who has not reached fourteen years of age is exempt from criminal liability.
Emilio Garay Franco was accused of murdering his mother, María Roque Franco González, in her home on August 3, 1983, at around 11:00 pm. The weapon used to commit the crime was a knife. The accused was sentenced to 30 years in prison. The accused appealed the sentence, but the action was dismissed by the Supreme Court. The Court confirmed the sentence, noting “no hay delito más horrendo” (there is no more horrendous crime) than patricide.
A nine-year-old girl was sexually abused by her father, Florencio Arias, on several occasions. The defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison, which was confirmed by the criminal appeals court on April 25, 2003.
Una niña de nueve años fue abusada sexualmente por su padre, Florencio Arias, en varias ocasiones. El imputado fue condenado a 10 años de prisión, lo cual fue confirmado por el tribunal de apelaciones en lo penal el 25 de abril de 2003.
In 2008, Francisco Ramírez Irala was found guilty of domestic violence against his wife. The Justice of the Peace ordered the accused to refrain from living at their home or being within 300 meters of their house or any other place that represented a risk for the victim for a period of 60 days. The accused appealed, and the sentence was confirmed. Subsequently, the accused filed a request before the Supreme Court, alleging that the sentence caused him great harm because he was a colonel in the military with an impeccable career and was being evaluated for a promotion. Th
Gilberto Arrúa González was accused of murdering his mother, Lidia Blanca González, in her home on April 3, 1993, at around 7:00 pm.
Clorinda Mora Romero was sentenced to jail for seven years and six months after the lower court of Asunción found that she was guilty with her co-defendant, Guido Arturo Villalba, of human trafficking with the purpose of sexual exploitation. She appealed the sentence, and the court of appeals rejected her motion, confirming the lower court's sentence. Finally, she challenged the decision before the Supreme Court, which dismissed the action in 2016.
S.J.D.S and M.J.D.S (16 and 13 years old) were sexually abused by their father, Joao María Dos Santos, on several occasions. The victims testified that they were forced to have sexual relations with their father. The accused admitted that he raped them. The accused was sentenced to 16 years in prison. His sentence was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1997.
In 1994, a married woman was sexually abused and raped by Juan Aveiro Gómez in her home. Law 104 (dated December 17, 1990) modified Paraguay’s Penal Code to punish the rape of a married woman with prison. The criminal appeals court sentenced the defendant to 12 years in prison. However, the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to eight years in prison on February 20, 1997.
In 2011, Lucia Sandoval informed her husband that she had filed a domestic violence complaint and obtained a protection measure against him, which required him to leave their home. In response, Sandoval’s husband threatened her with a gun and, in her attempt to escape, a physical fight ensued, and the gun was fired, resulting in her husband’s death. Subsequently, Sandoval was charged with the intended homicide of her husband and spent over three years in prison.
