Peru: Six Students Held in Navy School Abuse Case as Fujimori Strips Military of Liceo Naval
Peru · Justice
Key Facts
—The allegation. A 16-year-old student reported group sexual abuse by classmates on board a school bus of the Navy-run Liceo Naval Almirante Guise in Lima’s San Borja district on 15 September.
—The detentions. Ten students were detained for investigation; a judge ordered six of them into preventive internment at Lima’s Maranguita juvenile rehabilitation centre.
—The response. President Keiko Fujimori called the case “very grave” and declared the school “in reorganisation”, moving its administration from the Peruvian Navy to the Ministry of Education.
—The fallout. The Navy separated the school’s director, a teacher and the team coach from their posts; consumer watchdog Indecopi opened its own supervision proceeding and warned against withholding information.
—The context. A teacher at the school says she repeatedly warned about bullying and suffered reprisals; the victim’s lawyers want the adults present on the bus investigated for failure to protect.
A teenager’s complaint of sexual abuse aboard a Peruvian Navy school bus has put six students in juvenile detention, stripped the military of one of its most emblematic schools and forced a presidential intervention — with questions now mounting over what the adults in charge knew.
What Happened on the Bus
According to the initial investigation and statements from the victim’s family, the assault took place on 15 September during the return journey from an inter-school futsal tournament in the district of Santiago de Surco. The 16-year-old was travelling with fellow students from the Liceo Naval Almirante Guise, a military school in San Borja administered by the Peruvian Navy, when he was allegedly subjected to group sexual abuse inside the vehicle.
The family went to the San Borja police station the following day to file a formal complaint, triggering the medical and legal protocol at the Institute of Legal Medicine. Two adults were accompanying the students on the bus at the time, RPP reported — a detail now central to the investigation.
Prosecutors and the National Police opened case files to establish individual responsibility. Ten students were initially detained to give statements, and the judiciary ordered preventive internment for six of them at the Centro Juvenil de Diagnóstico y Rehabilitación de Lima, known as Maranguita, while the investigation proceeds. Because all of those involved are minors, their identities are protected under Peruvian law.
The Institutional Response
The case reached the highest level of government within days. President Keiko Fujimori described it as “very grave” and said she had asked the Minister for Women to ensure care for the alleged victim. She demanded a “rigorous and rapid” investigation and said the full weight of the law should fall on those found responsible.
Fujimori also announced a structural consequence: the Liceo Naval Almirante Guise will be declared “in reorganisation”, and its administration — until now in the hands of the Navy, with the Ministry of Education (Minedu) responsible for supplying teachers — will pass entirely to Minedu. “They will be the ones to restore order and discipline in this school and to prevent this from happening again,” she said. Minedu ordered that the students involved continue their schooling through virtual classes while responsibilities are assessed.
The Navy moved against its own personnel: the school’s director, a teacher and the coach of the futsal team were preventively separated from their duties. Beyond the criminal track, consumer protection agency Indecopi opened a supervision proceeding against the school and warned that concealing information could itself lead to a criminal complaint. The Defensoría del Pueblo and Minedu have requested detailed reports to establish whether earlier bullying complaints at the school went unattended.
What the Investigation Will Examine
The victim’s legal team has said it will ask prosecutors to investigate the criminal responsibility of the adults present in the vehicle — teachers, aides or the driver — for omission of assistance and failure of custody over the minors in their care. That line of inquiry turns on what the two accompanying adults saw, heard and did during the journey from Santiago de Surco to San Borja.
The school’s internal culture is also under scrutiny. A teacher at the Liceo Naval told La República that she had raised repeated alerts about bullying cases at the institution but had faced reprisals for doing so. “I have made many complaints,” she said. Her account aligns with the questions from the Ombudsman’s Office about whether the school had a record of unaddressed reports before the September incident.
For the Navy, the case is a reputational blow to one of its flagship educational institutions. The liceos navales were created to offer a military-style education to the children of naval families and civilians alike, and the Almirante Guise is among the best known in Lima. The reorganisation announced by Fujimori would end decades of naval administration if made permanent.
What We Could Not Confirm
Because the accused and the alleged victim are minors, authorities have released no names, and we could not confirm the exact charges each of the six detained students faces. We could not verify whether formal bullying complaints existed at the school before September, the status of the Navy’s internal inquiry, or whether the transfer of administration to Minedu is intended to be permanent. As of 1 October, neither the Navy nor the judiciary had issued a new public statement on the case, and the current situation of the six students at Maranguita could not be independently established.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Liceo Naval Almirante Guise case in Peru?
A 16-year-old student of the Navy-run school in Lima’s San Borja district reported being subjected to group sexual abuse by classmates inside a school bus on 15 September, on the way back from a futsal tournament. Ten students were detained for investigation and six were ordered into preventive internment at the Maranguita juvenile centre.
What consequences has the case had for the school?
President Keiko Fujimori declared the school “in reorganisation” and announced that its administration will pass from the Peruvian Navy to the Ministry of Education. The Navy separated the director, a teacher and the futsal coach; students involved are studying through virtual classes; and Indecopi has opened a supervision proceeding with a warning against withholding information.
Could the adults on the bus face charges?
Possibly. The victim’s lawyers have said they will ask prosecutors to investigate the adults who were accompanying the students — two were present, according to RPP — for omission of assistance and failure of custody. No charges against adults had been announced at the time of writing.
Sources
RPP · La República (Indecopi) · La República (teacher) · Cadena LATAM · Radio Fórmula
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Sources: RPP; La República; Cadena LATAM; Radio Fórmula.
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