The Sixth Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas has tried the accused David José this Thursday for a crime of sexual abuse with penetration, qualified in this way because Organic Law 10/22, known as the Only Yes Means Yes Law, was not yet in force.
In the trial held this Thursday, the accused of allegedly sexually assaulting his minor sister-in-law, his wife's sister, was the first to testify. When questioned by the Court, he denied having sexually assaulted the minor and also denied having had any sexual relationship with the victim. According to his testimony, "he was like a brother to the minor" and that "the only thing he did was be one more in the family and help her".
These events date back to 2016, when the minor lived in a house with her brother-in-law, her sister (the accused's wife), her two young nephews, her mother, and her uncle who suffers from a mental illness. At that time, David José was 30 years old and the minor was 13.
In the oral hearing, the victim recounted that she used to look after her young nephews, her sister's children from a previous marriage before she was with the accused. The minor stated that the alleged aggressor spent a lot of time at home and she was alone with him for long periods. Thus, she related that the accused **used to take her to his room to watch television, and it was there that the assaults began**
She recounted that the first time, the accused approached her in bed and pressed his body against the victim's, at which point she tried to pull away. She emphasized during the trial that she was not aware of what was happening due to her young age. In addition, she detailed that during those first two weeks he was touching her despite her refusal.
The victim recounted that some time later, he penetrated her vaginally and anally while they were on the ground floor of the house. At that time, the only person in the house was her uncle, who was normally in his room because he suffers from a mental illness. During this assault, David José allegedly touched her under her clothes and touched her breasts and vagina. Due to the continuous aggressions, the minor suffered an anal fissure for which she had to go to the doctor.
Some time after the assaults, the victim testified in court that her sister, her nephews, and the alleged aggressor left the home to live elsewhere. When the victim went to that house to care for her nephews, David José took advantage of those occasions to continue sexually assaulting her. In total, the assaults lasted for two years, from 2016 to 2018, and were practically daily when they all lived in the same home and several times a week when the alleged aggressor moved out
On the other hand, the victim stated that **she was afraid to report the events because her sister, the alleged aggressor's wife, would not believe her**. She also pointed out that she did not tell her mother because she was always working and would not understand.
The victim reported the events years later, in January 2020, out of fear that the alleged aggressor would also repeat these assaults on his nieces. For his part, the accused argued that the victim reported him because he and his sister-in-law's boyfriend did not get along due to the latter allegedly mistreating the children.
Witness Statements
During the trial, various witnesses were called to testify. One of them was the victim's mother, who recounted that David José forced her daughter to stay alone with him and that she sometimes heard him tell her to go up to his room. She also narrated that one day she arrived at the house and heard her daughter moaning "with pleasure", but when she asked what she was doing, her daughter told her they were watching television.
The mother stated that the accused and her daughter were always together, went on outings, and spent a lot of time in the room. Her brother, who is ill, mentioned that **they spent a lot of time in the room and that noise could be heard**. He also pointed out that on one occasion, his daughter told him she was bleeding from the anus, and it was another of the victim's sisters who took her to the doctor
Likewise, she recounted that in one of her young granddaughters, daughter of the alleged aggressor and the victim's sister, she observed that "her vulva was open," something she mentioned to her own daughter. However, the latter told her that the girl "had an infection."
Another of the sisters also testified, who argued that before the complaint filed by her sister, she already had suspicions of the aggressions that the accused was allegedly committing.
On the other hand, regarding the alleged mistreatment that the victim's boyfriend exerted over the minor nephews, the victim's mother **assured that it was David José who mistreated them**, not her daughter's boyfriend. Furthermore, she stated that it was this couple who told her about the sexual assaults that the accused was allegedly committing against her daughter.**Another of the witnesses was this couple**, who stated that, after a period of their relationship, the minor told her that he had touched her and taken advantage of her. It was then that she made him promise not to tell anyone. Regarding his relationship with his partner's nephews, he explained that **he got along well with them and played with them**.On the other hand, **the victim's sister and the alleged aggressor's partner** also testified as a witness. During her testimony, she stated that David José had a paternal relationship with her sister and that they got along well until they saw her boyfriend allegedly verbally abuse her children. Likewise, **she contradicted herself** with the rest of the witnesses and the accused himself **regarding the room in which they slept**, as she said they slept on a sofa bed on the lower floor of the house, but David José and the other witnesses said they slept on the second floorHe also stated that his sister **never told him she was suffering these sexual assaults**. For his part, he assured that he was always at home because he didn't work, and that he started working after he began living in the house. Currently, this sister and the victim are not in contact as a result of the complaint. In fact, during the trial, the victim commented on how much she misses her nephews, whom she hasn't seen in years.
The victim's uncle, who suffers from a mental illness and was always at the house, declared before the Court that he "didn't know what his niece and the accused were doing in the room but they would close the door and spend time together in there".
During the trial, the Prosecutor waived the testimony of the two National Police officers because the statement was going to be based on recounting the moment the victim went to file the report
The accused faces twelve years in prison, disqualification for the duration of the sentence. In addition to the prohibition of approaching the victim, her home, her workplace, her place of study, or any other place where she may be within 500 meters, as well as the prohibition of communicating with her for fifteen years.
In addition, ten years of supervised release and 17 years of special disqualification from "any profession or trade" involving regular contact with minors for 17 years. This is in addition to the payment of court costs and compensation of 20,000 euros for the moral damages caused to the minor.