Male prostitution ring allegations put Colombia's police at center of scandal
Male prostitution ring allegations put Colombia's police at center of scandal
Public confidence erodes as accusations have so far claimed high-ranking officials, a prominent journalist and unveiled a sordid tale of lies and corruption
Sibylla Brodzinsky in Bogotá
Sunday 6 March 2016 07.00 EST
A sordid scandal involving a male prostitution ring within Colombia’s national police force has gripped Colombia in both fascination and disgust.
The scandal so far has claimed the head of the police chief, a deputy minister and a prominent journalist and unveiled a web of corruption, sexual harassment and influence peddling that has eroded the public confidence in the police.
At the centre of the affair is what has been described as a homosexual male prostitution network run by senior police officials, known as the “Fellowship of the Ring”, which allegedly operated within the police academy between 2004 and 2008. Officers and congressmen allegedly paid for sexual services from cadets with cars, gifts and large sums of money.
The existence of the ring first came to light in 2014 when it was revealed that at least 10 former cadets had testified in an ongoing investigation in to the suspicious death in 2006 of a female cadet at the academy, which was first labeled a suicide. The cadet, Maritza Zapata, had uncovered the existence of the ring and – according to her family – may have lost her life over it.
More:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/06/colombia-police-male-prostitution-ring-allegations-scandal
LBN:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141370773
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