Peru: a child rapist's chilling confession leads to calls for chemical castration for child abusers

Last month, Peruvians were shocked to learn of the kidnapping and subsequent rape of a 3-year-old girl by the so-called “Monster of Chiclayo,” prompting thousands of people across the country to take to the streets to protest and demand the perpetrator be chemically castrated.  

According to Peruvian news sources, the rapist, Juan Antonio Enriquez, was arrested on April 16 after security cameras showed him abducting 3-year-old Damaris, forcibly placing her in his car before driving her back to his Chiclayo home and raping her.

When questioned about the whereabouts of the child, the 48-year-old rapist told police that he abducted the girl outside of an apartment complex on the outskirts of the city of Chiclayo. When police went to Enriquez’s home, they found the child bound and handcuffed. She was subsequently taken to a local clinic where it was confirmed that she was sexually assaulted.

The “Monster of Chiclayo” confesses

Enriquez’s chilling confession was released by police and was recently reviewed by ADN America.

In “the Monster’s” own words, “I took her to my house to rape her because I was drunk.”

Enriquez then described seeing Damaris alone outside of a residential complex and forcing her into his car. After driving her home, he admitted to recording himself raping the child.

“The minor seen in the videos is the one I kidnapped and took to my bedroom. That’s where I filmed the sexual acts seen in the video with my cell phone,” he confessed.

The rapist also confessed to typing the minor up to “prevent her from escaping” and how he planned to leave her on an empty street after finishing with her.

“I decided to hide the girl on the second floor of my home. So that she wouldn’t escape, I tied her feet with packing tape, thinking that later I could leave her on some abandoned street or in a remote location,” he said.

Peruvians demand justice and burn down “the Monster’s” home

Residents of Chiclayo and voices from across Peruvian society have in recent weeks demanded justice for Damaris, calling for life imprisonment for the rapist, who is currently serving nine months in prison for his crime.

Angered by the lenient sentence, Peruvians took to the streets to protest the court’s decision and even burned down Enriquez’s house, as seen by videos that circulated across social media.

Eventually, voices even began calling for chemical castration for child abusers – a move which prompted the government to send a bill to Congress proposing the punishment be written into law. Peruvian Justice and Human Rights Minister Felix Chero announced the legislation in a press conference last month and noted that the measure is meant to address “crimes against sexual freedom.”

Some critics, however, have come out against the legislation.

According to Matilde Cobeña, an attorney with the Ombudsman’s Office, chemical castration for child rapists is “inefficient.”

"It is an inefficient measure as a preventive method against crimes against sexual freedom. We already have the maximum penalties in Peru. We have life imprisonment as a penalty. Has this deterred aggressors? Has this helped to reduce violence against children and adolescents?,” she asked RPP Noticias.