The Protector of the Citizen Me Renan Hedouville, following the various allegations and denunciations mentioning the recrudescence of acts of rape and sexual assault in the Department of Grand'Anse and after preliminary investigation of the Office of Citizen Protection (OPC), deplores the lightness with which certain judicial authorities of the Public Prosecutor's Office near the Court of First Instance (CFI) of Jérémie, manage the cases of which they are seized.

The OPC found that out of a sample of 29 individuals involved in cases of sexual assault, rape and complicity brought to the notice of the Jérémie Prosecutor's Office, 16 of them (55%) were released without no form of prosecution.

Renan Hedouville draws to the judicial and police authorities on a practice of release of the alleged perpetrators of rape, "under the fallacious pretext that the victims have signed acts of withdrawal". He wishes to recall "in such circumstances, the Commissioners of the Government without any form of derogation, are obliged to apply Article 4 of the Code of Criminal Instruction which clearly states that the waiver of the civil action can not stop or suspend the exercise of the criminal action."

Renan Hedouville is alarmed and worried that 12 of these 16 liberations were ordered by the Substitute of the Commissioner of the Government Me Bergemane Sylvain "who seems not to know that the Law does not admit compromise in case of crimes and offenses and that accordingly the complainant's withdrawal can not extinguish the pursuit of public vindication."

He considers it appropriate to recall that any magistrate who encourages such practices only contributes to fostering corruption, impunity and the denial of justice.

"The Office of Citizen Protection reminds that the decree of 6 July 2005 has rigorously established the system of penalties applicable to rape and recommends to all the judicial actors of all Jurisdictions of the country's TPI to pay special attention to the rape cases submitted to them and which they are obliged to prosecute despite all forms of agreements or negotiations between the partieswhereas the heinous nature of this crime requires the reinforcement of its sanction"

HL/ HaitiLibre