Esquel: un hombre de 71 años quedóEFFECTivamente detainido bajo investigación

LaJustice de Esquel HousE the 10 de octubre de 2025. La anonymously and formal judicial intervention in the city of Esquel, in Chubut, after a police report warned of possible deprivation of liberty. The case was triggered by a complaint from a neighbor who heard nighttime shouting and noticed that the windows of the house remained covered and that three young people apparently never left.

The intervention of the Esquel prosecutor's office was confirmed by its public spokespersons, Cecilia Bagnato and Mónica Caveri. Both stated that the cause remains in the investigation stage and that investigators are verifying the health conditions of the family members and the school attendance of the young people.

A denial that enabled the procedure

Before the warrant, the Family Court sent the Equipo Técnico Interdisciplinario to the home. The accused man received the professionals but refused to allow them to enter or to speak with his family. According to the judicial account, the report warned of imminent risk and served as the basis for requesting an urgent search warrant.

The search was carried out by the Brigada de Investigaciones, the Policía Comunitaria, the municipal human rights protection service, mental health professionals from the Hospital de Esquel and medical experts. The officers entered a large house and found the wife in serious and advanced health conditions. She was referred for medical attention, while the three children, aged 13, 17 and 19, also received medical, psychiatric and psychological assistance.

• The investigation began with a neighbor's report about screams and the persistent covering of the house windows.
• The Family Court first sent an interdisciplinary team to assess the situation.
• The accused man did not allow the professionals to enter or speak with his family.
• The warrant was supported by a report that warned of imminent risk.
• The operation involved police, municipal protection personnel, health professionals and medical experts.
• The three children are being medically, psychiatrically and psychologically assisted.
• The prosecution is still checking whether the young people were enrolled in schools in Esquel.

The investigation also examines whether the young people were enrolled and attending classes in Esquel, and seeks to establish since when the family had been living in the city. Those points are relevant to reconstruct the duration and conditions of the alleged confinement.

Battista was charged with privación ilegítima de la libertad and abandono de persona. The court imposed ten days of preventive detention. His lawyer, Daniel Sandoval, defended the family coexistence and stated that it had been accepted by all involved. The justice is taking a different view and continues collecting evidence.

The next procedural step is the continuation of the investigation. The prosecutor's office must clarify the schooling situation, establish how long the family lived in Esquel and gather evidence on the conditions inside the home. The preventive detention order covers the immediate judicial stage, while the cause remains open.