The defendants accused of sexually abusing two friends in Arrecife in December 2017 have admitted to kisses and touching, although they have claimed that they were "consented to." "Everything was with her consent," Luis Alberto Varela and Abraham Hendrick García have both stated during the trial that began this Monday and will continue this Tuesday with the testimony of the complainants and witnesses.
"She never said no to me, everything was permissive," Abraham has assured, who has denied that he reached carnal access with one of the girls as the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution maintain. "She put her hand in my pants, grabbed my private parts, and I did the same," the defendant has stated, who has also claimed that it was not the first time he had kissed the young woman. However, he has denied that the relationship went further and that he made any touching to the other friend, despite also being accused of having sexually abused her. "No, we were just dancing and flirting," he pointed out.
"We touched each other," Luis Alberto said for his part, who, in his case, stated that he "kissed" and touched one of the girls "on the back" and "inside the bodysuit." "But never in her private parts," the defendant stated, who later admitted that he touched the young woman in the chest area. "But on the outside, not on the inside," Luis Alberto specified, insisting that they had already "hooked up on other occasions" and that "nothing out of the ordinary happened at any time." "Everything was allowed," he assured.
"We all drank equally"
Both have agreed in recounting that, on the night that the events allegedly took place, they went to pick up the two girls in Playa Honda, with whom they maintained a "friendship" relationship. After that, they pointed out that they went to their house, where they were "eating and drinking alcohol." "And we started dancing," the two defendants have recounted, who have insisted on several occasions in pointing out that they were dancing "sensual bachata" and other types of dances "very close together."
"And we all drank equally," Luis Alberto indicated, who, despite this, stated that he did not feel that the girls were affected by alcohol at any time, also denying that they put any type of substance in the drink. "I saw them normal," the defendant pointed out, who, however, did recount how, at one point, one of the young women went to the bathroom because "she felt bad": "She was dizzy, but before she was calm," the defendant indicated, denying that he followed the girl to the bathroom.
"No one accompanied her," Luis Alberto insisted, who, however, did state that, when the young woman left the bathroom, he did go "to ask her if she was okay." "And she told me she was sick and I told her to lie down on my bed," the defendant indicated, who admitted that he lay down on the bed with her, but assuring that he did so because the young woman told him "not to leave her alone." "And I didn't touch her at any time," the defendant assured, who also denied that his friend Abraham later went to the room and abused the girl.
In addition, although Luis Alberto has acknowledged that at that moment he left Abraham and the other young woman alone in the living room of the house, he has assured that he knew that his friend "had not" had relations with her. "Because something would have been heard," he pointed out.
His account of how the young women left the house
"And how did you see them if they had their eyes blindfolded"?, the prosecutor asked Abraham, after he also stated that he had seen his friend Luis Alberto kissing the other girl. "Because we took them off to take shots," this defendant responded, who, for his part, stated that a few minutes after being left alone in the living room with the other girl, she received "a phone call" and that he decided to go to his room leaving the young woman alone.
According to his account, shortly after Luis Alberto went to his room because he heard the girl "talking loudly" on the phone in the landing of the house and that then both decided to get up. "And when we arrived she had hung up and said 'I'm leaving here,'" the defendant pointed out, pointing out that then the young woman went to the room where her friend was and woke her up "with a slap on the back." "And I went white," Abraham specified.
Then, according to the defendants' statement, the two friends left the house, after which they decided to go after them. "Because if I pick up a person, I also leave her at her house," Abraham pointed out, assuring that, although the girls seemed at that moment "angry" and that at first they did not want to get into the car, in the end they did so "on their own" and took them to Playa Honda, after which they have stated that they returned to their house.
The reasons why they believe they were reported
"And why do you think they reported you then?" one of the defense lawyers asked Luis Alberto, who responded by pointing out that, in the case of one of the young women, he believed that she had done it "to attract attention" and "make jealous" another boy with whom she had had a relationship and who, according to what he has stated, spoke with her on the phone that night. And, in the case of the other girl, "because she always does" what the other "tells her," he stated.
In addition, the defendant has stated that, through two witnesses who are scheduled to testify this Tuesday, they received the "rumor" that the girls were saying that "they had reported them" because they "wanted to get money out of them."
Request for prison sentences of three and eleven years
It must be remembered that the Prosecutor's Office requests a prison sentence of three years for Luis Alberto for a crime of non-consensual sexual abuse, while for Abraham it requests a sentence of eleven years in prison by attributing to him two crimes of non-consensual sexual abuse, one of them with carnal access.
Likewise, the Public Prosecutor's Office requests that the defendants be imposed the prohibition of approaching within 500 meters of the victims in any place where they are, as well as their homes, workplaces or any other frequented by them, in the case of Luis Alberto for three years as he is accused only of one crime and in the case of Abraham for six years, three for each crime that is imputed to him.
Similarly, in case of being convicted, it asks that they be imposed supervised release after the completion of the sentences consisting "in the obligation to participate in sexual education programs, with a duration of two years for Luis Alberto and of seven years for Abraham.
