Six months in prison and compensation to the victim of 500 euros for moral damages. That is the sentence requested by the Arrecife Prosecutor's Office for a man who has confessed to threatening another with disseminating images and conversations of sexual content if he did not give him 3,000 euros.
The trial was going to be held before a jury, but the defense has reached a settlement agreement by which the accused will accept that penalty, with which he could avoid imprisonment. The hearing to ratify the agreement is scheduled to be held on February 10 before the Sixth Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas.
The events occurred in Lanzarote on August 17, 2019, when the accused contacted the victim through the application "Grinder". From there, according to the Prosecutor's Office in its indictment, they had "conversations of a sexual nature" and shared "intimate photographs."
That same day, "with the intention of intimidating the injured party and obtaining an illicit patrimonial benefit," the accused called the victim several times and sent him three Whatsapp messages, in which he demanded the payment of 3,000 euros in exchange for not disseminating the images and conversations.
"As a consequence of the events, he was subjected to a state of concern and unease due to the pressure to which the accused subjected them and the uncertainty of whether he would at any moment fulfill his announcement to disclose the material of the case," the Public Prosecutor's Office relates.
However, instead of giving in to the threats, he went to file a complaint, which led to this case. As a result of it, the accused could be identified, despite the fact that he had used a prepaid card and the mobile phone of a third person, which the Prosecutor's Office emphasizes that he "did not know" his "purpose."
Once he was located, the man confessed both at the police station and later in the Courts. "Since the beginning of the present proceedings, he has shown an attitude of repentance," the Prosecutor's Office emphasizes, which has applied his confession as a mitigating factor to reduce the penalty. In addition, he has also added another mitigating factor for "reparation of the damage," since he explains that the accused has deposited the amount of 500 euros in the Court's account, "as compensation for the moral damages caused."
In addition, in the settlement agreement he also undertakes to pay the costs of the trial.