Romanian prosecutors indict police chief, others for mishandling Alexandra Măceşanu case

The chief of the Caracal Police and three other officers have been indicted by the prosecutors of the Craiova Court of Appeals in Romania, accused of abuse of office for their actions following the disappearance of Alexandra Măceşanu.

Prosecutors state that had police acted in a timely manner, they "would have provided actual chances for saving the minor." Instead, their actions led to a delay of 14 hours. The 15-year-old died.

In May of this year, Gheorghe Dincă was sentenced by the Craiova Court of Appeals to 30 years in prison for the killing of Alexandra Măceşanu and Luiza Melencu, the court's decision being final. Gheorghe Dincă was indicted by the DIICOT prosecutors in January 2020.

In the indictment, cited by News.ro, prosecutors reveal that on July 25, 2019, Nicolae Mitrea, in his capacity as the chief police commissioner and commander of the Caracal Police operations, responsible for the search for the minor Alexandra Măceşanu and the identification of the person who deprived her of liberty and assaulted her, he "did not properly evaluate and manage the report concerning the minor's disappearance and subsequently the direct report made by her through the 112 emergency line about her abduction." They also say he "did not properly centralize and disseminate vital information to subordinates crucial to her location, did not properly coordinate, guide, support, and supervise search teams, and did not take measures for urgently initiating a criminal case, despite the exceptional gravity of the crimes reported directly by the minor."

Another officer, the head of the rural Police Section 2 Osica de Sus, “despite being informed about the disappearance of the minor M.A., did not report this fact to his hierarchical superior, did not verify whether the police officers V.M. and Ţ.E., under his command, registered the report, conducted checks, and communicated the event to the officer on duty.” This led to a delay in the identification of the perpetrator.

Furthermore, the prosecutors mention that "V.M., as a senior police officer and assistant chief of the police station at the Dobrosloveni Police Station, part of the Olt County Police Inspectorate, and Ţ.E., as a senior police officer and head of the police station at the Dobrun Police Station, part of the Olt County Police Inspectorate, while performing their duties, respectively patrolling duty, did not record and register the report from the injured party M.I. regarding the disappearance of the minor M.A., did not conduct verifications related to this, did not promptly inform the officer on duty at the Caracal Police."