The defamation case by serial sexual harasser Luis Jaime Castillo Butters against Peruvian anthropologist Marcela Poirier is dismissed
Castillo, a powerful Peruvian archaeologist and former culture minister, had lost the first round in the defamation case when an appeals court overturned the verdict; now he has lost the retrial.
This morning in Lima, Peru, a judge dismissed a long-running defamation case by archaeologist Luis Jaime Castillo Butters against Peruvian anthropologist Marcela Poirier, whose only crime was to expose his misconduct.
The dismissal comes on the heels of Castillo’s loss in a defamation suit he had filed in U.S. federal court against the National Academy of Sciences and its president, Marcia McNutt, after the NAS kicked him out after its own investigation into his behavior. (In an interesting coincidence, the judge who dismissed that case was Tanya Chutkan, who is now overseeing the January 6 case against Donald Trump.)
The judge in the Lima suit dismissed the case with prejudice (meaning it cannot be refiled) after Castillo and his attorney failed to appear in court. There was no immediate explanation why they did now show up, but I will update this post as information becomes available.
Here is the press release announcing the news:
The allegations against Castillo were first published in a series of blog posts I began writing three years ago, after being alerted by some of the victims and survivors about the situation. My detailed investigation showed the accusations were true. I did quite a number of updates, all of which can be found on Balter’s Blog, beginning with the first post. (Please use the search function for “Castillo” to find them all.)
Marcela Poirier suffered an adverse decision from the court in May 2022, and narrowly escaped a jail term. She and her attorney appealed, and eventually the higher court reversed the verdict and sent the case back down for a retrial.
During the first trial and the appeal, Marcela was ably represented by Peruvian attorney Brenda Alvarez, whom I got to know over the course of events. Brenda is a fierce defender of women’s rights and a champion of social justice.
For the second trial, the legal team decided to bring in reinforcements. Former Peruvian prime minister and human rights lawyer Mirtha Vásquez answered the call. I don’t know whether fear of this formidable female team made Castillo and his male lawyer decide to back off, but the case is now over.
As a longtime #MeToo reporter, this is obviously a very gratifying outcome. And for Marcela Poirier, it lifts a burden off of her shoulders that she has carried for nearly two years. My reporting showed that there is no doubt about the truth of the many accusations against Castillo. There are signs that his power in Peru and in Peruvian archaeology—once very great—is now much diminished. That is a victory for women and victims of abuse everywhere.