The Justice determined that the crime of Lucía Pérez, the 16-year-old girl who was abused and murdered in Mar del Plata in October 2016, was not considered a femicide. The Criminal Cassation Court, composed of judges Víctor Violini and Florencia Budiño, decided that there is no criminal responsibility in the victim's death, nor any eventual intent as had been previously considered.
In a new resolution, the magistrates highlighted an asymmetric context between Lucía Pérez, who had drug use problems, and Matías Farías, 23 years old, who was involved in drug dealing but did not consume drugs. It was mentioned that Farías had control over the meeting with the victim, creating a context of gender violence. Although it was considered that meetings were planned with sexual objectives, Farías was acquitted of the crime of sexual abuse, and the possibility of femicide was not contemplated.
In a review conducted by the Buenos Aires Criminal Cassation Court in 2020, a new trial was requested, and in 2023 the Oral Criminal Court (TOC) 2 of Mar del Plata sentenced Farías to life imprisonment as the material author of the crime and Offidani as a secondary participant to eight years in prison.
"I must conclude that in the case it becomes irrelevant in such a situational context to corroborate whether, indeed, there could have been an explicit or tacit expression of consent from the victim to engage in sexual relations with the accused... what matters is the absence of any legal effectiveness to validate any sexual act," states the document.
Regarding femicide, the judges consider that there are doubts about Farías' homicidal intent, while the arguments used previously do not have wide acceptance in national and foreign doctrine. The cause of the adolescent's death is attributed to a combination of factors: physical effort due to the abruptness of the sexual abuse and cocaine use. Family members of Lucía Pérez may appeal the decision, and the case could reach the Buenos Aires Supreme Court.
In November 2018, the Criminal Court No. 1 of Mar del Plata had sentenced Farías and Offidani for possession of drugs with the intent to distribute to the detriment of minors and in the vicinity of an educational institution.
