The High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) has upheld the acquittal of a young man who was accused of sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl during the 2024 carnivals in Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The court has dismissed the appeals filed by the Prosecutor's Office and the private prosecution, which sought a conviction for sexual assault based on the minor's testimony and on medical and police reports.
The events date back to the early morning of February 18, 2024, when the girl separated from her group of friends and suffered an anxiety attack.
According to the initial complaint, the accused approached her with his girlfriend and, taking advantage of a moment of absence from the latter, threw a liquid on her to touch her thighs and buttocks with the excuse of drying her clothes.
However, the TSJC has validated the testimony of the accused's girlfriend, who assured that the three remained together at all times and that she never separated from them until the minor's mother was located.
The ruling highlights that no report states the girl had wet clothes and that, during the oral hearing, the minor could not specify whether the accused had thrown a glass at her or asked her for a kiss, contradicting her previous statements.
The Chamber bases the rejection of the appeals on the fact that the accusers did not request the annulment of the proceedings or the acquittal judgment at the trial court level, which prevents the TSJC from carrying out a new assessment of the evidence to impose a conviction.
Therefore, the high Canary court concludes that the presumption of innocence must prevail in the absence of evidence corroborating the version of the assault described in the complaint.
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