The Criminal Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands has confirmed the sentence that condemned to 13 years, 6 months and one day in prison the accused of sexually assaulting his stepdaughter in Lanzarote, when she was between 10 and 12 years old. The ruling was issued by the First Section of the Provincial Court last December and now, the TSJC has rejected the appeal of the defendant, who claimed that there was no evidence and that his right to defense was violated, and has fully confirmed the judgment of first instance.
The ruling also imposes a restraining order on the minor for 22 years, as well as a penalty of disqualification for a profession or trade related to minors for 20 years. In addition, he must compensate the victim with 100,000 euros.
The events occurred between 2015 and 2018, when the girl finally told her mother what was happening and they went to file a complaint with the National Police.
During the trial, which was held last November, both the agent who registered the complaint and various experts testified, including forensic doctors and psychologists who have treated the victim since then, and who confirmed the physical and psychological consequences compatible with her story.
The Court based its judgment on these testimonies and on that of the victim herself, also underlining the absence of "ulterior motives" on the part of the minor, who is now 16 years old. In fact, the accused himself could not explain during the hearing why the girl could have invented something like that. “Obviously she is making it up, I don't know why. That question is for her”, he limited himself to point out during the hearing.
For its part, the accused's brother invoked his right not to testify against him, as he did during the investigation phase. Regarding the testimony he gave to the Police, stating that his brother had confessed at least partially to the facts, the sentence that has now been confirmed underlines that it has not been taken into account, since at that time he had not been informed of his right not to testify against a relative.
However, it considers sufficient the evidence for the prosecution to give credibility to the victim's complaint, who did not testify during the trial to avoid "revictimization". What was heard was a previously recorded statement, which the Chamber considers coherent and without significant contradictions, contrary to what the defense argued. In addition, it underlines the "broken and very touched emotional state" of the minor in that video, who was "subjected to intense pressure by the defense" during the interrogation.
The sentence includes in the proven facts the different episodes of sexual assaults suffered by the girl for two years, and underlines that the accused took advantage of the "relationship of ascendancy, trust and authority" that he maintained over her. "They began before she turned 11 and when she was close to turning 13 she tells her mother, unable to bear or endure this situation of continuous pressure and beginning to understand what was happening," the Court points out.
The next day they both went to the police station to file the complaint and after his arrest, the accused spent a year and a half in provisional prison, between September 2018 and April 2020. Now, that time will be deducted from the sentence established in the judgment, against which there is still room for appeal.
