The Cassation Chamber rejected a defense appeal against adding his genetic profile to the national register; Porcel is due to stand trial on sexual abuse charges, but no verdict has been issued.
Argentina’s National Court of Criminal Cassation rejected an appeal by businessman Marcelo Porcel’s defense challenging the collection of his DNA for a register used in criminal investigations. An appeals court had previously ordered the sample to be taken.
Porcel is accused of sexually abusing around 10 schoolmates of his children and is due to stand trial. The Cassation Court addressed the DNA sample, not his guilt or innocence on the charges. His defense argued that collecting DNA before a final conviction violates the presumption of innocence, legality and privacy rights.
Judges Gustavo Bruzzone and Pablo Jantus said the defense had not shown irreparable harm. They said genetic profiles are stored in coded form without identifying details, and that judicial or prosecutorial authorities may access the information only in a specific case. Identifying details can be decoded if a match is found in a criminal investigation, under judicial supervision.
The court also said taking a sample is an administrative registration measure, not a punishment, and is comparable to recording fingerprints. The law requires data to be erased if the accused is removed from the case or if an investigation remains unresolved for more than three years. Judge Jantus added that the defense’s claims of possible constitutional violations were hypothetical at this stage and could become moot if Porcel is later removed from the case.