There were 154 days of investigation. In October 2022, a 35-year-old man appeared at PROTEX, the wing of the Attorney General that investigates crimes of human trafficking, and reported having been sexually abused by more than one person when he was between 11 and 13 years old. A series of measures were immediately put in place that uncovered something that, if proven, would be much bigger: a pedophile network that would continue to operate to this day. The case exploded on Monday the 20th, when Justice arrested four suspects. One of them is Marcelo Corazza (50), the first winner of “Big Brother” and current producer of Telefe.
Corazza’s name was key in the progress of the investigation. According to him, the complainant was watching the new edition of the reality show when the producer went on the air and recognized him as one of his attackers. On October 24, six days after the program started, he appeared in court. He not only mentioned the former “Big Brother”, but also contributed the name of Francis Angelotti (46), whom he recognized as the first man who abused him.
The Justice ordered that the telephones be intervened. From the conversations that Angelotti had between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, it is clear that there would be a gang organized to recruit minors, abuse them and “rent” them to others. pedophiles.
Judge Javier Sanchez Sarmiento, head of Court No. 49, ordered the arrest of Corazza, Angelotti and two other men: Andrés Fernando Charpenet (53), Francisco Rolando Angelotti (46) and Raúl Ignacio Mermet (45). When the producer came to court on March 22, he limited himself to telling the press: “I am innocent.” The accusation that weighs on the four is that of corruption of children under 13 years of age, but the investigators let it be known that there is enough material to charge the crime of human trafficking.
The cause is processed under summary secrecy. However, as the days went by, elements were leaked that were essential to reach the arrests. Wiretapping, in addition to being chilling, seems to leave no room for doubt. The place occupied by each of the detainees remains to be seen because while Angelotti is designated as the leader of the gangUntil now, Corazza is mentioned as the possible perpetrator of an abuse in the early 2000s. In addition, about eleven victims have yet to be identified that the accused mentioned by nicknames in their talks.
The facts
In the cause there is another complainant. The two men are identified as “Victim 1” and “Victim 2” to protect their identity. “Victim 1” was the one who connected Angelotti to Corazza.
According to what he declared before federal prosecutor Alejandra Mangano, he met Angelotti by chat in 1999. The first time they met, the man invited him to get into his 4×4 truck and they headed to Parque Centenario. In the back of the vehicle he was abused for the first time.
From that moment the meetings began, which included visits to hotel accommodations. Angelotti enrolled in the theater class attended by “Victim 1” – where he met “Victim 2” – and even got to know his family. Some time later, the attacker began to put the young man in contact with other men in their 50s and 60s, one of them Mermet -another of the detainees-.
The young man told that the meeting with Corazza happened in 2001. The producer had just come out of “Big Brother” with unusual fame and for this reason, as soon as they were introduced, he recognized it. According to his account, Angelotti had told him that someone wanted to meet him and took him to Plaza Miserere. “Victim 1” got into the producer’s car and went to Costanera Sur. “(Corazza) undressed and masturbated in front of the minor while he watched,” the file says.
“Victim 2” declared similar situations -although not including Corazza- about the encounters with Angelotti and the introduction to other adults. He recalled that Angelotti once shared an email account with him and “Victim 1” so that they could explore its contents, where there were several folders with child pornography. In addition, she said that once the man took him to a hotel and there he met a boy about 9 years old which, due to its tune, seemed to be from Misiones -one of the supposed recruitment destinations-.
you listen to them
The statements of the complainants provided sufficient elements to make progress in the investigation. However, court officials were shocked when they came across the possibility that the gang might still be active today. As the weeks went by, the matter escalated and it was no longer just about finding those responsible for the alleged abuses committed twenty years ago, but in the telephone conversations between Angelotti, Charpenet and Mermet new victims and aberrational situations appeared.
In one of the talks, reproduced by Infobae, Angelotti spoke to Mermet about a minor: “Tomorrow he turns 16, see. In two more years, when she turns 18, I told her: ‘I’m taking you to Miami. Let’s go to Orlando, Disney,’” he told her. In another conversation, Angelotti talks to a man who has not yet been identified (nicknamed “G”).
G: Yes, stupid, but it’s from the garden. Don’t bring me the rat boy, or that one. Come with all the people you want, but not that garden visa.
Angelotti: That party I went with X.
G: But you can’t! That gurí is minor.
Angelotti: It’s a clandestine party.
G: Maybe it’s less. Angelotti: I’m not interested.
G: You are 50 years old.
Angelotti: You envy me because you would like to go out with little boys of that age.
In another, Charpenet was talking to Mermet and one congratulates the other for having been with a minor.
Mermet: You’re a boss, idiot, that’s more or less like eating beef, right?
Charpenet: It’s like eating caviar.
Mermet: With your hand, with the spoon you cut it, right?
Charpenet: The sensei will be proud of me, but it happens that I went to mambo.
Mermet: You don’t like the old merchandise, that’s fine with me.
The defendants
Corazza was, without a doubt, the last name that put all eyes on the case. The Telefe producer came to television as the winner of the first edition of “Big Brother” and, from that moment, he remained linked to the media environment. Currently he was the floor coordinator of the program. And, in addition to being behind the scenes, he also appeared on the air in “La noche de los exes”, in which participants from previous editions debated about the house.
Angelotti is from Oberá, Misiones, where he was arrested. The man is known in the area for work in the gastronomy sector. He attended the “Porteñas” pizzeria and was a grill in the Argentine pavilion of the National Immigrant Festival. According to local media, in addition, in 2005 he had a case against him for sexual abuse with carnal access and corruption of minors. Justice would have dismissed it.
Mermet is a merchant from General Rodríguezwhere he was arrested. With his company, he sells chainsaws, lawn mowers and brushcutters, as well as offering technical service and spare parts. In the city he is known because he is the treasurer of the Business Chamber.
Charpenet is domiciled in General Pacheco, in tiger. According to his pension records, the man is dedicated to providing hairdressing and beauty services and marketing cosmetic products.
Everything indicates that more details will be known as the days go by. For now, he only declared Corazza and said he was innocent. The rest remained silent and there are those who suggest that the gang could become bigger than the one that the psychologist Jorge Corsi knew how to lead.
