Hugo Alday’s Plan to Bar Sex Offenders from Kids

Chetumal, Quintana Roo — With the conviction of effectively protecting girls, boys, and adolescents from crimes of a sexual nature, Deputy Hugo Alday Nieto, President of the Commission for Sustainable Urban Development and Metropolitan Affairs of the XVIII Legislature of the State Congress, has presented a far-reaching initiative. The proposal seeks reforms to the Quintana Roo Penal Code, the Citizen Security Law, and the Organic Law of the State Public Administration.

The objective of the proposal is to disqualify persons convicted of sexual crimes from holding positions, jobs, trades, or professions in educational settings or those involving direct and habitual contact with minors. This aims to guarantee that they never again have access to environments where they could reoffend and harm the most vulnerable sectors.

In the exposition of motives, Alday Nieto highlighted that sexual aggressions leave permanent marks on the lives of victims, affecting their emotional, physical, and social health. He underscored the necessity of closing all doors to aggressors so they can never again harm a girl or a boy, stating that the integral protection of childhood cannot wait.

Proposal for a State Registry of Aggressors

The proposal contemplates the creation of a State Registry of Sexual Aggressors of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents, which will form part of the state's Citizen Security Information Platform. This registry will not be publicly accessible but will be available exclusively to security, justice, and social protection authorities, thereby avoiding the violation of human rights such as the presumption of innocence and social reintegration.

The initiative takes as a reference successful experiences from comparative law in countries like Spain, Chile, and Canada, where similar control mechanisms have been created with the purpose of preventing sentenced persons from working in environments related to minors. Furthermore, it addresses international commitments that Mexico has signed, such as the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Belém do Pará Convention, which obligate the State to prevent and eradicate all forms of violence against children and women.

In the words of the legislator, this is a preventive measure, not an excessively punitive or stigmatizing one, but rather an instrument that seeks to protect our children and guarantee safe spaces in schools, cultural centers, sports facilities, and social settings.

Idea Presented in Open Parliament

The deputy indicated that the proposal is the result of an Open Parliament exercise in which the State Human Rights Commission, the Attorney General's Office, the Bar Association of Quintana Roo Professionals, COPARMEX, as well as representatives from civil society participated.

He stated that listening to the voices of experts, citizen collectives, and social actors was fundamental for designing a solid, ethical, and viable initiative, as it is not only a legal obligation but also a moral responsibility towards our girls, boys, and adolescents.

Among the contemplated reforms is the incorporation of a new article to the Penal Code, which establishes disqualification penalties of between 6 months and up to 25 years for sexual aggressors for different crimes; the addition of a section in the Citizen Security Law that integrates the registry of sexual aggressors into the state Information Platform; as well as new attributions for the Secretariat of Citizen Security to integrate and update the registry, and to verify annually that no disqualified person is working in educational, sports, or cultural institutions.

"It is not enough to punish; it is imperative to prevent. The childhood and adolescence of Quintana Roo deserve to live free from violence, and as popular representatives we have the obligation to guarantee it," said the legislator.