The Second Section of the Provincial Court will judge next Thursday in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria a man accused of sexually assaulting his caregiver in Arrecife. In its written qualification, the Prosecutor's Office requests a prison sentence of nine years and also demands that he pay compensation of 13,582 euros to the victim, as well as the payment of a fine.
The events, which judicial sources have confirmed to La Voz will be judged behind closed doors, took place on December 1, 2017, when J.A.H., a user of a home of an association for the care of people with disabilities on the island, was watching television with the night shift caregiver, who worked as direct support staff for the entity.
According to the Public Prosecutor, at around two in the morning, the accused asked the caregiver to give him the medication and when she approached the cabinet where they kept it, he "approached from behind" the victim, "covering her mouth with a paper soaked with a substance that gave off a strong odor, throwing her to the ground and saying to her at all times 'shut up, shut up, don't scream'."
Subsequently, the Prosecutor's Office maintains that the defendant "grabbed the caregiver's arms" and "threw her onto the sofa", where he "tried to kiss her", while "with the intention of satisfying his sexual desires he put his hand under her jersey and touched her breasts, addressing her with expressions such as 'I want to rape you', 'I want to fuck you' while covering "her mouth and nose with his hand".
He "intimidated" her with a knife
After that, according to the Prosecutor's Office, the accused took the caregiver to the kitchen where "he took a serrated knife and threw her to the ground" and "with the intention of intimidating her and overcoming the resistance" that the victim put up, "he brought the knife close to her stomach and neck, putting pressure on it", while he took off her clothes and placed himself naked on top of her.
As a result of the events, the victim suffered various injuries for which she needed 20 days of healing, "five of them preventing her from her usual occupations", and with "sequelae of mild post-traumatic stress neurotic disorder".
Supervised release after serving the sentence for eight years
The Prosecutor's Office considers that the events constitute a crime of sexual assault and another minor crime of injuries and for them asks for J.A.H, who is in provisional prison since December 2, 2017, a sentence of nine years in prison.
It also requests that the accused be prohibited from approaching the victim, communicating with her, returning to the place where he committed the acts or going to her home, place of work or any other place frequented by her for a period of ten years. In addition, compensation is claimed for the victim of 825 euros for the injuries suffered and 12,757.55 euros for the sequelae and the payment of a fine.
In case of being convicted, the Public Prosecutor's Office also requests that, after serving the sentence, the accused be imposed the measure of supervised release for eight years, consisting "in the obligation to participate in sexual education programs as well as in the prohibition of approaching or communicating at a distance of less than 500 meters" to the victim.
