Abuse Charges Dropped Against Ortega

A judge on Wednesday dismissed sexual abuse charges brought against former Nicaraguan president and Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega by his stepdaughter, ruling that the statute of limitations had expired.

Criminal Court Judge Juana Mendez dismissed the 3-year-old charges brought by Zoilamerica Narvaez a week after reactivating the case following a decision by Ortega, who maintains his innocence, to shed his legislative immunity from prosecution.

Narvaez, a 33-year-old sociologist, charged Ortega with repeatedly raping and sexually abusing her for 19 years from the time she was 11, including during his 1979-90 term as president of the Central American nation.

“The [five-year] statute of limitations begins running the day the crime was allegedly committed,” the judge told reporters.

Ortega, a 56-year-old member of the National Assembly, lost his third bid to regain the presidency on Nov. 4 in an election in which the abuse charges were an unspoken subplot.

Narvaez, who in 1998 rocked the left-wing Sandinista party with an open letter detailing her accusations, remained on the sidelines during the recent campaign.

Her lawyer Carlos Icaza criticized the ruling and said Ortega had used legislative immunity to avoid facing the charges, allowing the statute of limitations to run out.

“This makes no sense, it’s a show,” said Icaza, adding that lawyers were considering appealing the ruling.