By Wendy Anders

The Second Judicial Circuit prosecutor’s office in San José, Costa Rica detained a man yesterday, suspected of recruiting women, promising them jobs as models, and then sexually abusing them.

According to the Public Security Ministry, the suspect, a man by the last names of Porras Rodezma (21), was arrested Monday afternoon in a house in Desamparados, where he apparently invited two women to come to a modeling appointment. One of the women was underage.

According to initial police investigations, Porras made contacts with young women through a Facebook page, which was listed as a modeling agency. He then scheduled them for appointments and invited them to his home to sign a modeling contract. The page provides evidence that other women were invited on similar promises in the past.

The two women found at the site yesterday were interviewed by police who said Porras had them put on shorts and do modeling, and then change into undergarments, as per their initial agreement through Facebook; but then things got sketchy.

“The women testified that, in the middle of the so-called modeling session, Porras touched their intimate parts, approached them improperly by rubbing up against them with his genitals, and even kissed them, despite the fact that both women protested and said they had not agreed to such acts,” said the Public Prosecutor’s Office in a statement.

One of the victims escaped from the house during the session, and managed to seek help from police officers who accompanied her to the house and proceeded to arrest the suspect when he tried to leave the premises.

The Prosecutor’s Office said that other women who may have been subject to similar abuse by Porras Ledezma should file a complaint at the nearest Public Prosecutor’s Office or at the Judicial Investigation Organization (OIJ).