February 1, 2006: Headlines: COS - Costa Rica: Crime: Molestation: CBS News: "The Peace Corps has a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law" says Director Vasquez on Obert Child Abuse case

Peace Corps Online: Peace Corps News: Library: Peace Corps: Crime : Crime and the Peace Corps: February 2, 2006: Headlines: COS - Costa Rica: Crime: Molestation: Santa Cruz Sentinel: Ronald Obert admits to abuse while in Peace Corps: February 1, 2006: Headlines: COS - Costa Rica: Crime: Molestation: CBS News: "The Peace Corps has a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law" says Director Vasquez on Obert Child Abuse case

By Admin1 (admin) (adsl-70-240-139-65.dsl.okcyok.swbell.net - 70.240.139.65) on Thursday, February 02, 2006 - 9:26 am: Edit Post

"The Peace Corps has a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law" says Director Vasquez on Obert Child Abuse case

The Peace Corps has a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law says Director Vasquez on Obert Child Abuse case

"This defendant committed a serious sexual assault while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in a program dedicated to helping the underprivileged," Ryan said in a statement. "Because the Patriot Act expanded our jurisdiction to include U.S. missions abroad, this defendant could not evade justice."

"The Peace Corps has a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law" says Director Vasquez on Obert Child Abuse case

EX-PEACE CORPS VOLUNTEER PLEADS GUILTY TO SEXUAL ABUSE OF FOREIGN MINOR
02/01/06 8:20 PST

SAN JOSE (BCN)

A former Peace Corps volunteer from Santa Cruz pleaded guilty today to sexually abusing a 14-year-old Costa Rican boy while serving underprivileged children overseas, U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan announced today.

As the first Peace Corps volunteer ever prosecuted for sexually assaulting a minor while serving in a foreign country, Timothy Ronald Obert, 38, could face up to 15 years in prison and $250,000 in fines when sentenced on May 15 in U.S. District Court in San Jose.

Obert admitted before U.S. District Judge Jeremy Fogel today that a few years after he traveled to Costa Rica to work with the nation's child welfare agency "PANI," he knowingly engaged in "illicit sexual conduct" with the Costa Rican minor inside his apartment.

At the time of the July 6, 2003 incident, Obert was 35 years old and the boy was 14, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement investigators, the Peace Corps Office of the Inspector General and the Diplomatic Security Service of the U.S. Department of State.

"This defendant committed a serious sexual assault while serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in a program dedicated to helping the underprivileged," Ryan said in a statement. "Because the Patriot Act expanded our jurisdiction to include U.S. missions abroad, this defendant could not evade justice."

A statue enacted under the Patriot Act expands the United States' special and maritime jurisdiction to include homes in foreign countries used by U.S. personnel on foreign missions.

Obert first went to Costa Rica in September 2001, but it wasn't until a fellow Peace Corps volunteer reported seeing a naked boy leave Obert's bedroom in the wee hours of July 6, 2003 that the investigation began.

Obert's service with the Peace Corps was terminated on July 15, 2003.

"The Peace Corps has a zero-tolerance policy for misconduct that violates the law or standards of conduct established by the Peace Corps," Peace Corps Director Gaddi H. Vasquez said in a prepared statement.

Obert was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 23, 2004 on two counts of engaging in illicit sexual misconduct and sexual abuse of a minor. Obert pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse of a minor within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.





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Story Source: CBS News

This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; COS - Costa Rica; Crime; Molestation

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