Santiago judge sends six men to trial for group sexual assault

A judge in Santiago has ordered six men to stand trial for the alleged group sexual assault of a 21-year-old woman in Villa González. The incident occurred in March 2025. The court ratified preventive detention for five of the defendants, including José Alfonso Rubiera Rodríguez, Edwin Manuel Castro Guzmán, Javier Eduardo Núñez Toribio, Oniel Rafael Pichardo Martínez, and Yamir Fernando Pérez Toribio. The sixth defendant will remain under economic guarantee and travel restrictions. The charges include criminal association, aggravated violence against women, sexual assault, and the illegal distribution of images via electronic means.

In a separate criminal matter in the Distrito Nacional, Eslyn Yoel De los Ángeles, known as Joel, has been ordered into three months of preventive detention. He is accused of an armed robbery at a commercial plaza on October 5, during which he stole over RD$3.6 million from a 66-year-old man. During his escape, the suspect allegedly shot a motorcyclist in the head. The defendant faces charges of aggravated robbery and attempted aggravated homicide.