BY FRANCES ROBLES

 MANAGUA -- A Nicaraguan judge dropped a rape case Wednesday against former President Daniel Ortega, just a week after the former leftist guerrilla leader gave up his congressional immunity to face charges that he assaulted his adopted daughter for two decades.

 Ortega's stepdaughter Zoilamérica Narváez stunned the country three years ago when she announced that the head of the Sandinista National Liberation Front had
 sexually abused her for almost 20 years, starting when she was 11. A judge ruled Wednesday that her claim came too late for criminal charges because the statute of
 limitations had run out.

 ``Now it's me who is reduced to defending myself in court,'' Narváez said after the ruling. ``I have felt defenseless. . . . When will Daniel Ortega let me close this chapter of my life?''

 Narváez, now 33, daughter of Ortega's longtime partner Rosario Murillo, said she was molested and raped by Ortega, who dragged her on diplomatic trips and forced sex on her. Narváez was raised by Ortega and adopted by him in 1986.

 Narváez's accusations stalled because as a former president and member of Congress, Ortega enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecutions.

 Five weeks after losing his third bid for the presidency, Ortega announced he would forgo immunity to face the charges in court.

 First District Judge Juana Méndez tossed the case out barely a week after receiving it. Narváez's attorney vowed to appeal.

 Ortega did not comment after the decision. His wife said she would make all public statements from now on, because the scandal was rooted between mother and
 daughter. Murillo said her daughter's accusations were lies manipulated by people with political interests who ``fed'' off the scandal.

 ``Everyone is tired of this story -- exhausted,'' said Murillo, flanked by her other children. ``This is out of a telenovela. I don't want to be here in front of the cameras.''

                                    © 2001