ACCUSED OF SEXUALLY ASSAULTING HIS PARTNER'S DAUGHTER DENIES THE FACTS: "NEVER IN MY LIFE, EVER"

The defendant, accused of sexually assaulting his partner's daughter, denies the facts: "Never in my life, ever"

The trial began this Tuesday in Arrecife, but had to be suspended due to the impossibility of contacting the victim and her mother, as well as the forensic psychologists, via videoconference.

April 10 2018 (17:14 WEST)
The man accused of sexually assaulting his partner's daughter denies the charges: "Never in my life, never"
The man accused of sexually assaulting his partner's daughter denies the charges: "Never in my life, never"

The defendant, accused of sexually assaulting his partner's daughter between March and April 2013, when she was 12 years old, has denied the facts during the trial that began this Tuesday in Arrecife. "Never in my life, ever," Ramón Pérez Martín assured during the oral hearing, which was soon after suspended. This was decided by the Sixth Section of the Provincial Court, due to the impossibility of contacting the victim and her mother, as well as the forensic psychologists, via videoconference. Now, a new date will be set for the continuation of the trial, although the court has expressed its intention that it will finally be held in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.

However, before being suspended, the defendant did testify, insisting that the events he is accused of "are not true." "She was like a daughter to me," said Ramón Pérez Martín, who did point out, however, that one day when he arrived "with drinks" and was "playing" with the minor, he touched her. However, he assured that it was unintentional, "without sexual purpose" and that he asked her for "forgiveness," although he said he did not remember where he touched the girl.

"I don't know if it was on the chest because I don't remember, because I had been drinking," he responded to questions from the prosecutor, after the existence of a conversation recorded by the mother came to light in which, apparently, the defendant admitted to touching the girl. "It was only that time," he reiterated.

A previous complaint for gender violence, from which he was "acquitted"


The defendant has stated that he maintained a relationship for "six or seven years" with the girl's mother and that, for a time, they lived together in a house in Montaña Blanca. According to him, sometimes he and the minor were left "alone" at home at night, because "the mother worked some days taking care of a man." However, Ramón Pérez Martín has denied at all times that he had made sexual touching or that he had had relations with the minor. "Never in my life, ever," he stated.

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According to the defendant, the sentimental relationship with the girl's mother ended "around April 2013," after she reported him for gender violence. According to what was stated in the courtroom, the woman accused him of "pointing a weapon at her," a fact that Ramón Pérez Martín has also denied, although he has acknowledged that he had "three weapons" and "license" for them at home, he pointed out that they were "inside a suitcase, full of dirt" and that "they were not touched." In fact, his lawyer has pointed out that his client was "acquitted" in that case.

This complaint, according to the defendant, occurred after he reproached the mother and the minor that "money was missing" that he had kept at home, specifically about 3,000 euros. Until that moment, he said that the relationship with both was "good," but that it began "to change" and that even his partner's daughter began to be "more distant."

A recording in which he allegedly admits the facts


After the complaint for gender violence, Ramón Pérez Martín has stated that he told them "to leave the house as soon as possible" and that he even offered "to pay them for an apartment as long as they left." However, he pointed out that in the end the coexistence was extended because the mother asked him for "more time." "I agreed because I am so noble..." declared the defendant, who pointed out that they finally lived together until "a few days before" the complaint that motivated the case that was being tried this Tuesday.

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The defendant has also stated that "one night," before he was reported, the mother showed up at his house and told him "that she wanted to resume the relationship," suffering "an anxiety crisis" because he "did not want to." Regarding the conversation that the mother recorded, he explained that it took place another day that he "was in the bar" and that the woman went to look for him to "talk."

"I didn't want to go to my house, because I was afraid and we went to my farm," the defendant pointed out, who thought that his ex-partner was going "to ask me for money." However, he specified that the touching that is talked about in that conversation "had no sexual purpose" and that he told "the mother" so.

An agent has related how they became aware of the alleged assault


In the oral hearing, a police officer also testified, explaining how they became aware of the alleged sexual assault of the minor by the defendant. According to what he stated, he and another colleague had to intervene in the mother's house one day after receiving a notice that "a woman had taken pills." Upon arriving home, according to what he related, the agents found "a girl" who told them that "her mother had taken pills" and the mother "in bed," although "conscious." "She was coordinating and speaking well," he added.

According to what he stated, the mother told his colleague that "she had taken pills because she couldn't take it anymore, because her daughter had told her that she had suffered touching from a former partner and that there was even penetration." According to what he related, she also stated that "there was a recording" and that the man was "a taxi driver from San Bartolomé."

"The girl initially didn't want to say anything, but then she said that what the mother was saying was true," this agent pointed out, who noted that the minor told them that if she hadn't said anything before it was "for fear of being left on the street or that they would find out at the institute."

A psychologist provided by the defense believes that "there are gaps"


In the part of the trial held this Tuesday in Arrecife, a psychologist "expert in forensic psychology" and in cases of "sexual abuse" provided by the defendant's defense also testified, who prepared a report "based on the statements of the victim, the mother and the expert reports." This expert from the defense has pointed out that she found the "tranquility" of the minor after allegedly suffering a sexual assault by the defendant to be "surprising." And, in her opinion, it is "striking" that the young woman "maintained the same behavior" with him "before and after having suffered an alleged assault" and that she did not put "her own means" to avoid it.

In this sense, she has given as examples the fact that the young woman "continued watching television on the sofa" with the defendant after the alleged touching or that, the day after he allegedly raped her, "she got in the car with him" and was "listening to music with her headphones" as she did "habitually." And, in the opinion of this psychologist, the "normal" thing after suffering a sexual assault is to present "strange behaviors." "In a girl or in a woman, it is the most serious situation that can occur," she added.

She also spoke of a letter that the minor apparently wrote in which she "stated the feeling of having failed the mother." However, the complete content of the letter itself has not been revealed, although it has been pointed out that, according to it, the young woman had apparently had sexual relations prior to the alleged sexual assault reported.

"I don't know if with whom she had them it may not have been very pleasant," this psychologist pointed out, who believes that the young woman may have had "a traumatic experience," but that "it does not have to be" the one that was being tried this Tuesday. Thus, she has pointed out that she believes that "there are gaps that should be valued" although, nevertheless, she has acknowledged that she did not explore the minor and that therefore in her report she speaks "conditionally." "I do not assert, because I cannot assert," she indicated, while the prosecutor has questioned the validity of this report for this reason.

Request for 15 years in prison


The Prosecutor's Office is asking for a sentence of 15 years in prison for the defendant, as well as that he compensate the victim with 80,000 euros for the moral damages caused, for a continued crime of sexual assault.

It also requests that he be prohibited from approaching the victim or communicating with her for 18 years. Once the sentence has been served, it is also requested that he be placed under supervised release for a period of 10 years. Regarding this, it is indicated that it will consist of the prohibition of approaching the minor and also of attending "any children's park" and in the "obligation to participate in sexual education courses."

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