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Thirty-three teachers currently working in various Guatemalan school districts have been identified as sex crime offenders through the recently launched National Registry of Sexual Aggressors (RENAS).
The registry, which provides a list of about 5,500 persons convicted of sex crimes, is available for members of the public to check free of charge after it was launched in early January.
According to the Minister of Education, the 33 educators will be relocated to various administrative departments within the Ministry that would limit their access to persons that fall into the listed vulnerable groups. The legislation, which established the registry, states that all candidates applying to work at youth events, programs, and in educational institutions must be vetted through the registry and receive certification that they have no convictions of this nature before being considered for the position.
The registry also takes account of possible sexual aggressors and prevents them from working closely with vulnerable populations. Anyone interested in childcare or education will be subject to the investigation including priests from all religious sects, teachers, even clowns.
Almost immediately after the system was made accessible, 5,000 person guilty of past sexual misconduct had been registered with an additional 2,000 were asking for certificates of clearance.
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Together with the registry and Congressional approved Guatemala is also set to launch another crime-fighting initiative, the Genetic Data Bank, which records the forensic and genetic information of any crime suspects gathered during criminal investigations. The program will extend not only to Guatemalans but to foreigners as well, opening new byways for investigators from the nation’s Forensic Science Department.
Over the course of 16 months, the Public Prosecutor’s office recorded 5,836 complaints of sexual crimes which translates to 11 reports per day.
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