No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeArchiveU.S. Citizen Sentenced For Child Sex Abuse

U.S. Citizen Sentenced For Child Sex Abuse

A U.S. citizen was sentenced thisweek to 154 years in a Costa Rican prisonfor sexually abusing children, representativesof the Judicial Branch confirmed thisweek.Scott Thomas Cochran, 39, was sentencedTuesday by the Penal Court of SanJosé for the production and distribution ofchild pornography, paying for sex withchildren and the infraction of a drug law.The sentence was reduced to 45 yearsunder a process of penalty reduction inaccordance with the Penal Process Code.Cochran was arrested in January 2003after a joint investigation by the SpecialProsecutor on Sex Crimes, child welfareadvocacy group Casa Alianza and CostaRica’s Child Welfare Office (PANI) (TT,Jan. 24, 2003).Cochran – who was sought by theInternational Police (Interpol) for similarcharges in the United States – had beenunder investigation in Costa Rica fornearly two years before he was arrested.A Costa Rican man was also sentencedto 25 years, reduced to 18, in conjunctionwith the case against Cochran.He was accused of the same crimes,minus the drug violation, and, accordingto the Judicial Branch, was responsible forbringing the children to Cochran. His sentenceis lighter because there were fewercounts of each crime against him.

Trending Now

How Nayib Bukele Consolidated Total Power in El Salvador

No one was surprised. El Salvador’s President, Nayib Bukele, is now officially cleared for indefinite reelection. Congress, firmly under his control, paved the way...

US Plans Funding for Costa Rica Migrant Deportations

The US State Department plans to allocate up to $7.85 million to assist Costa Rica in deporting migrants, drawing from a fund usually aimed...

Chinese Influence in Costa Rica Grows from Business to Education

Will the 21st Century someday be known as the Chinese century? Time will tell. They seem to be off to a good start when...

Plastic Pollution Costs $1.5 Trillion Annually

Representatives from 184 countries began negotiations on Tuesday at the UN headquarters in Geneva to draft, within ten days, the first global treaty aimed...

The Day Costa Rica Stopped to Celebrate Claudia Poll’s Olympic Victory

In the decades I have lived here, there were two sporting events that were so big that the country came to a brief standstill....

Costa Rica Detains Two in Killing of U.S. Citizen

The Judicial Investigation Agency (OIJ) has arrested two suspects in connection with the murder of American businessman Eshraghollah Vatani. Vatani was reported missing at...
Avatar
spot_img
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica