The small surfer town of Esterillos has had a major change - one that the townfolks are not happy about.
Maria used to send her eldest daughter, 13, down the hill to the supermarket to pick up vegetables and other products about twice a week. Her daughter had to pass the yellow house on the corner. But now Maria walks the 3/4 mile round trip herself, leaving her daughter in a newly installed locked house. She fears for her daughter’s safety; she does not want “this evil” – convicted pedophile Joe Baker lives in that yellow house – to know she even has a daughter.
Esterillos is one of those traditional Costa Rica beach towns with palms and almond trees lining the beach. Its crystal clear blue ocean is an invitation to take a swim. A person driving south from Jacó or north from Quepos can easily miss the turnoff sign. A few Americans and Canadians expats live there, and the town knows everyone. The only thing the police worry about is an occasional drunk. For a long time it was sort of a secret surf spot to a chosen few; but lately there have been a couple of changes. Read more... (1006 words, 3 images, estimated 4:01 mins reading time)
Joe Baker was released after serving about 10 years of a 24 year sentence from a Puntarenas Prison for exploiting underage children.
Updated on 5/27/10 – TicoTimes Editors note: Joe Baker has a Facebook account, please NO THREATS, but might want to let him know how you feel….
In June 1999 Costa Rica passed a law against the sexual exploitation of minors. “With this law, we say to foreigners who want to come here to abuse our children that they will find a jail cell waiting for them,” said then President Miguel Angel Rodriguez at the signing ceremony.
Rodriguez later added that those convicted under the law would serve the full sentence with no chance of appeal or early release.
In July, 2007, President Oscar Arias toughened the country’s laws against sexual exploitation of minors, banning possession of child pornography and extending the statute of limitations for sex crimes against minors. The government finally had become particularly sensitive to suggestions that foreign tourists came to Costa Rica to sexually exploit underage children, and wanted the world to know that pedophilia has serious consequences and will not be tolerated. Read more... (583 words, 2 images, estimated 2:20 mins reading time)
Prostitutes from different countries gather in the Del Rey, Costa Rica's most popular prostitution venue - photo by Keely Kernan/Freelancer
SAN JOSE, Costa Rica — The slumping global economy is having a stimulus effect on Costa Rica’s famous sex-tourism industry, as a growing number of unemployed women — from Colombia to the Dominican Republic — flock to San José to seek a living in the world’s oldest profession.
In popular prostitution hot spots such as the Hotel & Casino Del Rey and Key Largo, local prostitutes compete with an influx of foreign women from Nicaragua, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Venezuela and even Russia. The increase in numbers and variety of working women here has reaffirmed Costa Rica’s position as an international hub for prostitution, which is legal and regulated by the government since 1894.
But not everyone is happy about the increased competition, which, along with a contracting economy, has required some prostitutes to lower their prices by as much as 40 to 50 percent.
“Business is bad. The problem is competition. Sometimes I don’t even make enough to take a taxi home after work,” said Costa Rican prostitute Mayela, as she lingers by the bar at Key Largo in search of a client. Read more... (863 words, 2 images, estimated 3:27 mins reading time)
