Colombia's national police chief, Rodolfo Palomino, resigned from his position on Wednesday following the inspector general's announcement yesterday that a disciplinary investigation would be opened into allegations that Palomino created a male prostitution ring within the national police force.
The investigation was prompted by testimony that surfaced late last year from a police captain who claimed to have been abused by his superiors during the time he served as a cadet. A retired officer further supported this allegation, saying that with Palomino's complicity, entry-level male cadets were coaxed and threatened into having sex with higher-ranking officers, the BBC reports.
In his announcement about the investigatory probe, Inspector General Alejandro Ordonez stated that authorities have obtained testimony and a recorded conversation from 2008 between a then-senator and a senior police official that apparently confirms the existence of the prostitution ring, according to the Associated Press.
Politicians, journalists and other critics have been calling for Palomino's removal since the scandal first broke last year, as accusations of fraud and corruption continued to develop, InSight Crime reports. In addition to alleged sexual misconduct, Palomino is also being investigated for illegal enrichment and for supposedly using illegal wiretapping against journalists investigating the scandal.
At a press conference in Bogota this afternoon, Palomino said in a statement that he has taken the decision "to ask the president [Juan Manuel Santos] to remove me from my position as director of the National Police," while maintaining "the absolute knowledge of my innocence of the charges that have been laid against me."
Palomino claims that the allegations are slanderous, politically-oriented, and designed to both drive him out of office and to discredit Colombia's police force. He has served with Colombia's police for 38 years.
Criminal investigations over other top officials' alleged sexual misconduct are also ongoing: Rodolfo Palomino is the third top government official to resign over sexual misconduct within a month, explains Colombia Reports.
President Santos has named General Jorge Nieto as the new chief of the police force.
