Chile sex scandal spills into politics

[seemslikeadream]

The case touches officials, the media and the Church
By LARRY ROHTER
New York Times

SANTIAGO, CHILE - For Chile's right wing, it is the scandal that refuses to go away. Though the "Caso Claudio Spiniak" began as a squalid sexual matter, it has been transformed into a political issue that has divided supporters of Gen. Augusto Pinochet and pitted them against an increasingly combative news media.

The scandal has been agitating Chile since late last year, when Maria Pia Guzman, a conservative member of Congress, denounced what she described as a prostitution and child pornography ring and accused Spiniak, the nouveau riche owner of a string of health clubs, of leading it. She said that some of her own political allies were involved.

"There is evidence that within the intimate circle of Spiniak's network, there are politicians," she said, citing accounts that she said she had heard at a shelter for sexually abused youths.

In the latest accusations, made public in July, people identified as procurers for the ring have implicated as clients the mayor of a large city and a Catholic bishop renowned for his opposition to the Pinochet dictatorship. Both men have denied involvement in the sex ring, but in a poll taken early this year, three-quarters of those surveyed said they believed politicians were involved.

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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/2725578

[Senior citizen]

1. Abuse of power = power to abuse kids.

I suppose there are some countries where they don't run child-molesting rings for the benefit of the rich and powerful. Well, when you have throw-away kids at the bottom of society, and billionaires at the top, it is almost inevitable.

http://www.protect.org