The scandal of abuse of a minor in care once again implicates DGAIA.

DGAIA is once again under suspicion after the case of abuse and prostitution of a minor under the Generalitat's guardianship was uncovered. The case has shocked public opinion. The girl, who was then 12 years old, was abused by a man who also forced her to prostitute herself with at least sixteen men.

The government has also shown its dismay. But new information suggests that the Directorate General for Children and Adolescents (DGAIA) may have allowed the young girl to run away later with a man ten years older. 

This adds more pressure to Salvador Illa's government, which the opposition has been asking for weeks to take action over DGAIA's corruption scandals. These occurred between 2016 and 2020 under ERC's leadership. The government alliance between PSC and ERC currently prevents the socialists from lifting the rug.

DGAIA, once again under suspicion

According to one of the social educators in charge of the minor, alarms went off after several escapes from the center located in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat. Upon accessing her phone, they discovered she was a victim of abuse and rape. A man was forcing her to prostitute herself, and she had been raped by several men.

After it was uncovered, they accompanied the family to report the case to the Mossos d'Esquadra. The investigation revealed that the man led a pedophilia network that had at least 25 victims. 

The scandal has also served to uncover irregularities that question the management of minors under the Generalitat's guardianship. DGAIA allowed the girl to run away with a man ten years older when she was 15 years old. This is not usual and puts the spotlight on the action protocols in such cases.

The case emerges amid a storm over the irregularities detected about DGAIA under the ministries of Dolors Bassa and Chakir El Homrani. Something that affects Esquerra but also indirectly the current PSC government.

A headache for the Illa government

The Audit Office uncovered the irregularities committed within DGAIA over the years. From contracts awarded without competition and the transfer of public housing to private entities. To aid granted to tutored and former tutored minors who did not meet the requirements. 

The opposition has demanded explanations, but PSC, ERC, and Comuns have systematically blocked the investigation in Parliament. ERC made Salvador Illa president, and PSC is indebted to the republicans. 

The dismissal of the general director of DGAIA after only six months in office, without giving explanations, has added even more suspicions. The government claims it wants to start a new phase from scratch. But each new piece of information about this organization is more unsettling than the last, and it puts the executive more against the ropes.