Prosecutors to appeal acquittal of soccer coach charged with child pornography

A Santiago court acquitted a soccer coach charged with sexual abuse and child pornography. Prosecutors have decided to appeal.

The Dominican Public Ministry announced it will appeal the ruling that acquitted Celso Manuel Portela Álvarez, a soccer coach charged with sexual abuse of minors and with creating, producing, reproducing, acquiring, possessing and storing child pornography.

The ruling was issued on October 28, 2026, by Judge Miguel Alejandro Báez of the Second Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the Santiago judicial district. According to prosecutors, the court did not properly consider the quality, relevance and probative strength of the evidence in the case. They are asking the appeals court to overturn the ruling.

Portela Álvarez was arrested in 2024. According to the Public Ministry, it spent several months tracking his online behavior. He faced alleged violations of articles 25 (paragraph III), 26, 396 (letter C) and 411 of Law 136-03, which creates the Code for the Protection of the Fundamental Rights of Children and Adolescents, and article 24 of Law 53-07 on High-Tech Crimes and Offenses.

According to the agency, the investigation was coordinated by the Electronic Crimes Department of the Santiago Prosecutor's Office together with the Specialized Prosecutor's Office for High-Tech Crimes (Pedatec), and was carried out through the ICACCOPS system, the Online Child Protection Services System. The Public Ministry says the process showed the defendant shared and downloaded child pornography in large quantities.

According to the Public Ministry, that activity triggered an international alert that placed the area in the Dominican Republic from which the activity was carried out on a red flag. The investigation identified the IP address of the main computer used by the defendant. Search warrants were then executed and multiple electronic devices were seized and subjected to extensive forensic analysis.