Argentine Judge Cuts Jail Term for Sex Abuser of 'Gay' Child

An Argentine judge has reduced the sentence of a man accused of sexually abusing a six-year-old child because of the child's supposed sexual orientation.

According to the Criminal Appeals Judge Horacio Piombo, the child had previously been sexually abused by his father, and is therefore gay and “used to situations of transvestism.”

The ruling has been criticized and condemned by several human rights activists, including the LGBT Federation of Argentina (FALGBT).

“To suggest the alleged sexual orientation of a victim of abuse takes away from the severity of the act, that is, considering this as an extenuating factor when judging a case of this type, is discriminatory, stigmatizing and violation of the Convention on the rights of children and the Integral Protection of infants,” said FALGBT President Esteban Paulon.

The accused, the manager of a sports club, was recently sentenced to six years in prison for the crime of sexual abuse of minors with children playing football in his arena. The man reportedly sexually abused the six-year-old victim in the change room after football practice.

Judge Piombo called the ruling “seriously outrageous” and later reduced the sentence to three years and two months, explaining that the “child is gay, he already has a defined sexuality. The abuse happened, but it was not so outrageous.”

According to news reports, this is not the first time the Criminal Appeals judge has made a decision to favor the perpetrator of sexual abuse against minors.

Maria del Carmen Ortega, the dean of the Faculty of Law at the National University of Mar del Plata, confirmed Tuesday the school's decision to terminate Piombo's teaching position due to his recent ruling.