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Published Monday, February 18, 2019

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Ex-president Óscar Arias' exhibition vandalized same
day that 10th woman's complained of sexual misconduct

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Representatives of the National Museum confirmed that Thursday, during the Art City Tour, three people committed an act of vandalism against a showcase where the museum exhibits a copy of the Nobel Peace Prize medal that former president Óscar Arias won in 1987.

"The showcase was scratched with lipstick. In this situation, the museum security officers intervened immediately and solved the incident." said the museum in its statement.

The messages on the glass case dedicated to former President Arias said "Violador," which in Spanish could be interpreted as a rapist.

According to the museum's statement video evidence will be used in corresponding legal actions and security in the exhibition History of Costa Rica will be reinforced in order to avoid future damage to the property or collections exhibited.

The vandalism happened on the same day that a sexual misconduct complaint against the ex-president became public. This is the 10th such complaint.

This new complaint was made by a woman surnamed Volio García. She published her claim in her Facebook profile under the hashtag #Yo Tambien, similar to the #MeToo movement in the U.S.

According to the woman "about 15 to 17 years ago . . . I also suffered sexual harassment from Óscar Arias Sánchez. I was a Nobel Peace Prize trainer. I had to go to his house where he has a space/gym for his personal use. After several sessions, he harassed me with verbal touches and innuendo that bothered me and made me uncomfortable. I let him know and ignored him until I decided not to give him my professional services again as a personal trainer. 'Do not pay me what you owe me. I do not need it!' I closed the door before the eyes of the butler, who looked at me with the eyes of . . . 'Oh oh again.' "

The woman has not given interviews to any media on this new accusation.

As A.M. Costa Rica has reported, the Prosecutor's Office for Gender registered two criminal complaints against the former president for alleged sexual assault.Those accusations were registered as file #19000098994-PE and are subject to investigation.

The first formal complaint made by a woman surnamed Arce.

According to Mrs. Arce’s testimony, "he grabbed me from behind and touched my breasts. I told him no and that he was married . . . . I did not know what I really did, and I thought that it was the only line of defense because I had this fear: if I refused he would not cooperate with us anymore. He kept touching me, he has put his fingers in my vagina and he touched me and kissed me. And then he told me to wait a moment and he left the office. I was like I did not know what to do, I felt trapped at that moment."

The second official complaint for the alleged crime of sexual abuse, was made by a woman surnamed Morales. According to her, the events took place in 2015 at Arias' home. He had sent her a message on Facebook to invite her to visit him to give her a book. "He stood in front of me next to the door that was closed. I'm taller than him. However, he grabbed my head, I had loose hair. He grabbed me. He forced me to get closer to his body. Then with one of his hands he touched my breasts over my clothes and then he kissed me against my will. I was frozen, I did not know what to say. The only thing I could think was to tell him 'Don’t Oscar, I have to go.' He did not tell me anything. He did not move away. I was shocked. I did not expect something like this from a person so recognized and whom I admired very much."

Another complaint was made by Pilar Baeza, 65, who said that Arias exposed his penis, touched her breasts and tried to attack her sexually.

According to this woman the events took place in 2008 in Arias’ home in Rohrmoser, Sabana. "We were talking, and suddenly he has thrown at me to touch my breasts. I was in shock, and I remember talking to him loudly. I told him, 'What's wrong with you?!' He replied: 'Do not tell me you do not want me to touch you.' I answered strongly that I did not want to! I was very angry and scared. He remained seated and put his hands to undo his trousers until he showed me his penis and then he told me: 'Pilar you spend the night with me, we are alone and the butler is not there either. The house is locked and you cannot go.'"

Another woman surnamed Fontana published her accusation on social networks. According to her she is 38 and worked in the offices of the politic party Vanguardia Popular in Barrio Escalante in San José. According to the woman, When she left work Arias twice followed her in his car and invited her to get into his car.

"On two occasions one of the guys got out of the car. he made some compliments and asked me to get on his car. I did not agree. This guy was Óscar Arias, who continued, following me with his car on Monday nights," the Fontana woman said.

Another sexual assault accusation was made by Carina A. Black who said that Arias tried to grope and kiss her in 1998 when he visited a university as speaker.

"I pushed him, and I smacked him in the face," she said.

A.M. Costa Rica wire services photo

  The messages on the glass case dedicated to former President Arias said "Violador," which in Spanish could be interpreted as a rapist.

Because she was not injured, it never occurred to her to file a report, she said. "Arias is so powerful," she said. "He has huge land ownership. He is so revered. In Latin America, the power is so tilted on the side of men. This behavior is what most women have grown up with." She has decided to tell her story, she said, in part so people will believe his first accuser.

Another woman, also surnamed Morales, published an article entitled "My bad experience with Óscar Arias" in the magazine Profile (Perfil). In the article, she explained that in 2013 she "had an interview with Arias about the arms trade treaty at his house. When at the end of the interview he sat at his desk to look for some photos on his computer, he said to me (with a gesture) that I would sit on his leg so we could see the screen. I remember that I mentioned that: if his wife was not going to get angry? His wife was on the cover of our magazine in February of that year, I told him that I had interviewed her and that she was an admirable lady. The situation did not go further. There was no sexual assault, luckily," she said.

Another was journalist Emma Daly, who works for the Human Rights Watch organization and who made public accusations in an interview in the Washington Post. According to Ms. Daly, Arias groped her in 1990 when she was a reporter covering Central America issues, and Mr. Arias was also at the Intercontinental Hotel in Managua, Nicaragua.

Ms. Daly said she asked a question, and instead of answering the question, Arias put his hand between her breasts and exclaimed, "You're not wearing a bra." Ms. Daly said that she responded, "Yes, I am."

Another was a woman surnamed Antillón, who, in an interview covered by local newspaper La Nacion, said that when she was 25 years old, she was working as a press adviser for Arias in the electoral campaign of the National Liberation Party before the 1986 elections.

"I was sitting in front of his desk. He came to me, took my hand and put it on his erect penis. I pushed him and I stood up, and he threw himself at me. He grabbed me by the shoulders, threw me against a closet and began to touch me. With the noise, somebody began to knock on the door. From then on I did not accept to be alone with him," she said.

Another informal accuser is a woman surnamed Marroni, who worked in 2012 as the editor of the book of former president Arias entitled: "Con Velas, Timón y Brújula." She said former president Arias touched her leg and offered her to give a massage.

Wednesday Arias went to testify before a deputy prosecutor in the gender office in the company of his lawyer, Erick Ramos.

He had to give his statement on two cases of sexual misconduct against him. The first accusation is for rape, and the second is for sexual abuse. No precautionary pre-trial measures were requested by the Prosecutor's Office against Mr. Arias.

On exiting, Arias gave a brief speech explaining why he cannot give more statements about these two accusations against him.

"In the last 50 years, in the different positions that I have occupied in my public life in this country, I have always answered for the journalists all the questions that they have asked me. Nevertheless on this occasion my lawyer has asked me to not give any statement, so I ask you to understand why I will not give any statement," he said, referring to reporters.

Attorney Ramos reaffirmed to reporters what was said by Arias. "We have already made the declaration in the Public Ministry's court, we are not going to do anymore, we want you to understand these circumstances," he said.

Mr. Arias won the country's presidency from 1986 to 1990. His role in the negotiation of a peace agreement to stop the Central American Wars earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1987. In 2006 he won re-election as Costa Rican president from 2006 to 2010.

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Could Arias' scandal be affecting the image of Costa Rica? We would like to know your thoughts on this story. Send your comments to: news@amcostarica.com

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