Documentary record Bound by Fear
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Conviction Claimed spiritual healing or mediumship San Luis, Riobamba, Chimborazo, Ecuador · 2023

Chimborazo curandero convicted of raping a 15-year-old during a claimed healing ritual; appeal denied

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

curandero, self-described traditional healer operating premises in the San Luis sector of Riobamba

Organization

No organization assigned

Spiritual nexus

The defendant used his claimed status as a traditional healer (curandero) and the pretext of a healing ritual to isolate a minor and obtain sexual access, telling her the assault was part of the cure — the same doctrinal-pretext mechanism (traditional healing/curanderismo authority) already documented in the corpus's Cuenca and Gualaceo curandero records, but arising from an entirely separate proceeding, defendant, and province.

  • Spiritual healing or treatment

Evidence structure

Proceedings

  1. 2023-12-19 · convicted at trial; conviction and sentence ratified on appeal

    Tribunal de Garantías Penales de Chimborazo (trial); Sala Penal de la Corte Provincial de Justicia de Chimborazo (appeal). Néstor D. B., a self-described curandero operating in the San Luis sector of Riobamba, was convicted of raping a 15-year-old girl who had come to his premises with her family seeking a 'curación.' The offense occurred on the night of 26 April 2023: the defendant took the victim to a darkened room, told her to undress, and assaulted her, claiming this was necessary to heal her. He was sentenced to 29 years and 4 months' imprisonment. He appealed; the Chimborazo Provincial Court's Criminal Chamber denied the appeal and ratified the sentence in full (reported 23 March 2026).

Appellate history

  1. 2026-03-23

    Appeal denied; trial conviction and 29-year-4-month sentence ratified.

Documented coercion mechanisms

  • traditional-healing setting and treatment trust
  • isolation of the victim in a darkened room framed as necessary to the cure
  • claimed ritual/therapeutic pretext for requiring the victim to disrobe

Primary record

Sources

national newspaper court reporting court verdict report Primicias, 'Tribunal condena a un curandero a 29 años de cárcel por violación en Riobamba' (2023).

Reports the trial court conviction, the 26 April 2023 offense date, the victim's age (15), the darkened-room/disrobe pretext, and the 29-year-4-month sentence.

national newspaper court reporting appellate ruling report Ecuavisa, report on the Chimborazo Provincial Court's Criminal Chamber denying the appeal and ratifying the 29-year-4-month sentence (23 March 2026).

Confirms the appellate denial and ratification of the original sentence against Néstor D. B.

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