Inside the Rape Allegation Facing Peru’s New President José Jerí: Journalist Says Legitimate Questions Remain

Peru’s newly appointed President, José Jerí, of the right-leaning ‘Somos Perú’ party, has drawn scrutiny since taking office over a series of criminal complaints. One case, spotlighted by journalist Daniel Yovera, remains opaque and, he argues, leaves pending and legitimate questions that still demand answers.

The complaint, filed by a woman on December 30, 2024, accuses Jerí and another manhardware businessman Marco Cardoza Hurtadoof raping her while she was unconscious after sharing pisco with them and others hours earlier at a country house with a pool.

According to a report by Daniel Yovera on Epicentro TV, the complainant knew both men. Immediately after the accusation became public, then-congressman José Jerí denied the allegation, repeating his denial in an interview.

Prosecutor Tomás Gálvez later archived the case against Jerí at the preliminary stage for not finding indications linking him to the alleged assault, a decision that cites a DNA test. The resolution states: «It was determined that the biological samples found (…) do not match the DNA of the suspect Jerí Oré».

However, Yovera notes that a 2015 plenary agreement and a 2018 plenary ruling by the Supreme Courts Full Chamber established that scientific examinations are not conclusive on their own and must be evaluated alongside additional corroborating evidence.

For now, authorities continue to investigate Cardoza, who left Peru on February 4, 2025: «He and Jerí maintained a friendship that led the lawmakerand today Perus Presidentto receive him in his congressional office and even to organize an event in which he honored his fathers company,» Yovera reports, adding that official records list five visits by Cardoza to Jerís office.

In the journalists view, the case contains a key contradiction: Jerí initially said he did not know either Cardoza or the complainant, yet the available evidence indicates otherwise.

The report also states that Prosecutor Gálvez inferred the woman was taken to the bedroom while still unconscious by Cardoza. In testimony to prosecutors, Jerí said that at the time the abuse allegedly occurred, he was elsewhere with another womanhis partnerwho, he claimed, arrived later at the gathering.

Yet in his earlier interview he did not mention this partner. The victims description of her assailants also drew attention: «When she was unable to resist, she felt a face with a closely trimmed beard scraping between her legs. And, notably, both suspects had trimmed facial hair that day,» her statement reads.

Another unresolved detail is the presence of a tank top (bividí) belonging to José Jerí in the room where the woman awoke: «Later I woke up, still groggy, and realized I was naked; next to my clothes was Congressman José Enrique Jerí Orés tank top,» the complainant stated.

Read the full reports below:

Congressman José Jerí implicated in sexual assault complaint (January 8, 2025)
Why prosecutors archived the investigation into José Jerí (October 11, 2025)

El Ciudadano