In a high-profile ruling that underscores growing enforcement of digital defamation laws in the Dominican Republic, well-known communicator Claudia Pérez — widely recognized by her public name “La Tora” — has been convicted and sentenced to 12 months of incarceration for defaming ruling party deputy Sergio Moya via digital channels.
The judgment was delivered this week by Magistrate Octavia Carolina Fernández Curi, presiding over the Eighth Criminal Chamber of the National District based in the capital, Santo Domingo. Beyond the custodial sentence, the court ordered Pérez to pay 5 million Dominican pesos in moral damages compensation to Moya, who is commonly known by his nickname “Gory,” and instructed the convicted communicator to cover all associated court costs for the proceedings.
Court documents confirm that Pérez made use of social media platforms and other digital telecommunications channels to distribute statements that the justice system ruled had severely harmed the sitting deputy’s public honor and professional reputation. The legal action stemmed directly from Moya’s private criminal complaint, in which he alleged Pérez had falsely tied him to organized criminal activity in her public postings.
In her ruling, Magistrate Fernández Curi confirmed that Pérez’s actions ran afoul of Articles 21 and 22 of the Dominican Republic’s Law 53-07, landmark legislation focused on high-technology crimes that explicitly penalizes defamation and slander committed through electronic mediums. Pérez is scheduled to begin serving her sentence at the Najayo Women’s Correction and Rehabilitation Center, a women’s prison facility outside the capital.
Under the Dominican Republic’s existing criminal procedure regulations, Pérez retains the right to file an appeal of the ruling with a higher appellate court. If she chooses to move forward with an appeal, legal experts note she is also eligible to request a suspension of her sentence’s execution while the higher court conducts its full review of the conviction and sentencing.
The court’s ruling also fully upheld the civil damages claim brought forward by Moya’s legal team. This case marks one of the most visible recent applications of Law 53-07 to digital speech disputes in the country, shedding light on how Dominican courts are addressing conflicts that arise from content posted to social media and other online platforms, an increasingly common source of legal tension in the digital age.