"Lydia Cacho and Artículo 19 – Mexico Office expressed deep concern and outrage over a recent ruling by the Third Circuit Collegiate Court in Cancún, Quintana Roo, which exonerated Juan Sánchez Moreno, a former commander in the then-Attorney General’s Office of Puebla. He had been convicted for his role in the torture of journalist and human rights defender Lydia Cacho in December 2005. The ruling, issued nearly 20 years after the events, represents a major setback in the pursuit of justice, truth, and full reparations for Cacho.
Sánchez Moreno was one of the officials responsible for the torture inflicted on Cacho in retaliation for her book The Demons of Eden, which exposed child sex trafficking networks linked to businessmen and public officials. He was initially sentenced to five years and three months in prison. On appeal, a higher court—the First Unitary Tribunal in Quintana Roo—recognized the greater severity of his actions and in April 2021 increased the sentence to seven years and six months. He had been serving that sentence until July 4, when the latest ruling overturned his conviction.
These previous sentences were already seen as insufficient given the gravity of the crime, advocates say."
