Medina, host of the nightly gossip show “Magaly TeVe” on national television station ATV and owner of the weekly magazine Magaly, and Guerrero, her producer, were found guilty of defamation by Lima’s 27th Criminal Court on October 16.
The court sentenced Medina to five months in prison and Guerrero to three months, and ordered both journalists to pay the plaintiff 80,000 sols (US$26,000) in damages, according to local news reports. Medina and Guerrero were taken into custody immediately after the sentencing.
The case stemmed from a series of photographs and videos of Peruvian soccer star Paolo Guerrero at a Lima nightclub, which were aired on “Magaly TeVe” and printed in Magaly in November 2007. According to news reports, Medina alleged that the photos showed the player had been out drinking early on the morning of a match between the Peruvian and Brazilian national soccer teams. An investigation by the Peruvian Soccer Federation found that the photographs had been taken days before.
In February, Paolo Guerrero filed a criminal defamation lawsuit, claiming the journalist had insulted his honor and ruined his reputation, the national daily El Comercio reported.