Businessman charged for alleged child abuse of Palermo school students

Judge Carlos Bruniard has charged businessman Marcelo Porcel with aggravated sexual abuse against at least ten children under 13, Argentine outlets reported.  He was also charged with multiple counts of corruption of minors and with producing images of child sex abuse.  The ruling came after more than a year and a half of investigation and at least ten complaints from his children’s former classmates at Palermo Chico School, a private institution spanning from kindergarten to high school in the Buenos Aires Palermo neighborhood. Despite the legal decision, Porcel will remain free. According to media reports, the judge believes there is no risk the businessman will flee or obstruct the investigation.   He did, however, impose on Porcel strict restrictions: he may not leave his home for more than 24 hours, he must surrender his passport, and he is prohibited from leaving the country without judicial authorization, under penalty of arrest. His assets up to the sum of AR$112 million (around US$80,000 at the official rate) have also been frozen. A series of prohibitions imposed on Porcel during the investigation, including a ban on contacting the victims, their families, and witnesses, as well as a restraining order ordering him to not come within a 300-meter radius of them, remain in place. The allegations Marcelo Porcel, 51, is a businessman working in the agricultural and real estate sectors. The father of four children, he is also the son of Nstor Porcel, one of the founders of Argencard, the country’s first credit card system, created in the 1960s. The abuses allegedly occurred between 2022 and 2024 and are based on complaints from students of the Palermo Chico School and the testimonies of at least ten minors. The victims were classmates of Porcel’s children at the school, whom he allegedly extorted with gifts and money in exchange for their silence. The accounts describe a recurring pattern: organized meetings at his residence in the luxury Le Parc towers, in another nearby apartment, and at his office in Retiro. Investigators found images of child sex abuse on his cell phone, including footage obtained with a hidden camera in his bathroom.  The case originated in late 2024 when a complaint raised alarm within the Palermo Chico school community. Although authorities requested his arrest in December 2025, Porcel was never detained. In March of this year, he was questioned by the judiciary but declined to answer any questions and merely stated that he was “not guilty.”