Peru ex-official denies running Congress prostitution ring

Jorge Torres, former head of Peru’s congressional legal and constitutional office, is questioned by a parliamentary oversight committee – Copyright AL-MASIRAH TV/AFP –

A former Peruvian congressional official on Thursday denied having set up a prostitution ring in the legislature providing sexual favors to lawmakers in return for votes.

Jorge Torres, the former head of the congressional legal and constitutional office, rejected the accusations during questioning by a parliamentary oversight committee investigating the scandal in parallel with the public prosecutor’s office.

“Regarding the issue of a possible prostitution ring in Congress, I totally reject it,” Torres said.

He said he had no connection to sexual workers providing services to members of congress, “much less that these services have been used to generate votes in favor of a bill.”

The scandal erupted after the murder of lawyer Andrea Vidal, 28, who was an advisor to Torres until she was fired in September.

Vidal died in a hospital on December 17 after she was shot along with the driver of the taxi in which she was traveling.

The television program “Beto a Saber” implicated Torres in the murder of Vidal, who allegedly recruited the prostitutes to provide sexual favors in Congress.

Torres, who was removed from his position in Congress on December 13, rejected the suggestion that he ordered the hit on Vidal as “absurd.”