A judge has been acquitted after she went to visit a cop killer in prison and was allegedly caught kissing him.
Mariel Alejandra Suárez was also accused of lying about being sick so she could visit convicted murderer Cristian Omar ‘Mai’ Bustos, 43, in prison.
He was jailed for 20 years for killing police officer Leonardo ‘Tito’ Roberts and injuring another in 2009, as well as murdering his nine-month-old stepson in 2005.
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CCTV cameras filmed the then-judge allegedly smooched Bustos in December 2021 after his conviction.
Suárez worked as a court official during his trial.
She claimed she visited him in prison because she was writing a book about his story.
The prosecution said she missed a formal hearing involving another defendant to visit Bustos in secret.
Prosecutors stated: “On 30 December 2021, the criminal judge on duty in Comodoro Rivadavia was informed that there was a detained suspect waiting for a control hearing.
“However, in a deceptive manner, she claimed that she was sick.
“For this reason, the hearing was set for the following day.
“The prosecution indicates that, by lying about her state of health, she delayed an important task inherent to her role as a criminal judge on duty.
“Instead, she was at the IPP prison in Trelew, visiting an inmate for personal reasons.”
In November 2023, Suárez underwent a disciplinary procedure and was dismissed from her position as a criminal judge, as reported by Need To Know.
She was then prosecuted for ‘failure to fulfill the duties of a public official’ and ‘omission of duties of the office’.
During her trial, Suárez’s defense lawyer argued that the prosecution team had failed to come up with a specific crime that she had committed.
Her legal representative Gustavo Oyarzún said: “There was no criminal act and the prosecution has not explained which law she violated.”
Judge Marcelo Nieto Di Biase agreed with the defense, stating that although her conduct was “ethically reprehensible”, it did not constitute a crime.
He also pointed out that, although the hearing she should have attended was delayed, it “took place the following day and was held within the period established by law”.
The judge said: “I consider the conduct displayed by then criminal judge, Mariel Suárez, as ethically reprehensible.
“But for this reason, she was already tried and dismissed from her position, which is public and well known.”
Suárez will face no further criminal action for her alleged smooch with the cop killer.
She still works in the legal field and describes herself on Instagram as a “legal expert in criminal law, a specialist in digital rights and cybercrimes and cybersecurity, and a computer expert”.
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