El Salvador courts hand down prison terms for extortion, transport‑linked sexual assaults and matricide

The First Criminal Court of San Salvador sentenced Julio César Durán Ramos to 15 years in prison for aggravated extortion of a merchant in Apopa, after threatening the victim with death unless a monthly payment of $150 was made.

The Fourth Criminal Court imposed a combined 44‑year sentence on Irvin Iván Quintanilla Méndez and Ovidio Samuel Gutiérrez Lazo for operating a private‑transport service used to abduct, sexually assault and rob women in the San Salvador metropolitan area.

The First Criminal Court also handed a 40‑year term to Klaus Fernando Orantes Ramírez for the aggravated homicide of his mother in the Escalón district, a crime committed to seize her property and financial assets.