Tulum, Q.R. — A member of the Tulum Public Security Secretariat accused of attempted sexual assault remains in custody. The 40 year old municipal police officer was arrested himself after the arrest of a woman for public disorder at a hotel.
While in custody on August 27, the woman requested a bathroom break at which time, according to her, she was followed into the bathroom by the on-duty officer. While inside, he attempted to sexually assault her.
After her release from the Tulum municipal jail, she filed a complaint against the officer, who has since been identified by the State Attorney General (FGE) as Marco Alejandro “N”.
Following the investigation, police officers, in coordination with the municipal SSP, took him into custody. He has been ordered to remain in pretrial detention while the legal proceedings against him are carried out.
The woman he is alleged to have attempted to sexually assault is reported to have been a tourist, however, authorities have not provided her nationality.
Edgar Aguilar Rico, Tulum’s Secretary of Public Security, confirmed the officer was arrested for his “poor individual decision”.
“This is an active member of the municipal police force who made that poor individual decision, so he was arrested and the corresponding legal procedure was applied,” he said.
According to Aguilar Rico, the officer was removed from his duties and arrested in accordance with protocol, emphasizing that as a public servant, the case carries greater weight.
“After learning of the incident, we acted according to protocol, immediately securing him and making him available to the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Quintana Roo. That agency will be responsible for due process,” he reported.
“This was an individual action. The colleague made a bad decision with this action, which is why he was arrested at the same police station and brought before the authorities. We have no tolerance for this and we will follow the full force of the law,” he added.
“I take this opportunity to tell all my colleagues that as long as they stay within the law, we will support them, but for those who behave outside the law, rest assured that any act of corruption, much less this type of situation, will not be tolerated.”
