Puerto Rico’s Department of Justice, Department of Education and Senate are investigating New Progressive Party (PNP) Senator Héctor Joaquín Sánchez over complaints that minor students from the town of Loíza were taken to a partisan political event in Camuy, apparently without their parents’ prior authorization. The events allegedly occurred on October 14 at the Belén Blanco de Zequeira school.
Students were allowed to leave campus during school hours aboard a vehicle, but were not taken to the activity their legal guardians had authorized. The mother of one student said the trip, made in Sánchez’s official vehicle, happened without her permission. Attorney Joel Osorio Chiclana, who represents the mother of a student aged 16 or 17, said the family was never told the trip’s real destination.
He also dismissed circulating rumors of alleged lewd acts against the minors. According to reports, on the way to Camuy the group stopped at the Capitol in San Juan, where the minors reportedly changed into clothing related to the political event. The legal representation confirmed the student was returned home after midnight.
As initial administrative measures, the school’s principal and the school counselor, reportedly an acquaintance of the senator, were removed from their posts.