The Second Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas hosted this Monday a trial against a young man accused of sexually abusing a girl in a landing in Arrecife during the summer of 2022. The Prosecutor's Office requests for the accused Pau Solá Tomás 14 years in prison and attributes to him the authorship of the crimes of sexual abuse and injuries.
The events being judged date back to 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 7, 2022. That day, the accused Pau Solá entered the Bar Arrocha, in the San Francisco Javier neighborhood of Arrecife, with a friend. Once in the bar, both noticed the state of intoxication of a young woman who approached to talk to them, according to the barmaid, her friend decided to leave the establishment, while Solá stayed in the bar.
An employee of a multi-store declared that she had seen both young people staggering down the street minutes before the alleged aggression, while she had difficulty walking and he allegedly grabbed her arm. The young woman, diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder, was not taking medication to treat her illness and was under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The employee related that she saw how Pau put his hand under the woman's pants in the middle of the street. "She walked in zig zags, lost her balance and supported herself with her hands and he hit her from behind with his parts," said a National Police officer who was in charge of viewing the exterior images in the reconstruction of the events.
The cornerstone of the session was consent. During his statement, Pau Solá admitted to having sexual relations with the victim in the doorway of a house in Arrecife that Sunday, he defended that at all times "they were consensual" and admitted to having left the young woman lying on the landing after finishing penetrating her. "I saw her conscious at all times, I left her there and went to see what was happening in the bar," he told the Court.
A couple who were driving in the car at that time, noticed around 7:30 p.m. that there were two people having sexual relations in the middle of the street and after going around several times with the vehicle they could see what was happening. "The girl was unconscious and he was on top of her penetrating her, I saw it from the car before calling the police. I realized that they were raping her," the man asserted before the Court.
Upon realizing that they had seen him, the witness declared that Pau Solá left the place and went to a nearby bar. At that moment, he decided to run towards him and hold him, with the help of other customers of the premises, until the arrival of the Police. Meanwhile, his partner assisted the young woman. "She didn't move, she was unconscious," the woman insisted.
The three workers of the premises near the events assured during their respective interventions that the victim was very impaired by the effects of alcohol and that the alleged aggressor had also drunk. "She was staggering. I told him to take her to her house and for him to go to his. At no time did I suspect what was going to happen," testified a waitress.
The testimony of the Local Police
"I assisted the victim, I found her lying on the ground half-naked and almost unconscious," revealed the officer of the Local Police of Arrecife in charge of the operation. "She was like someone who sees things but doesn't know where she is," he added. This adds to the testimony of the worker of the multi-store, the two witnesses of the car, and another local police officer, who explained that the young woman was not conscious, she was with her panties moved and her pants on her knees.
As time went by, the young woman became altered "she was bad, dazed, very nervous in an anxiety attack." After the police intervention, the young woman was transferred to the hospital in a medicalized ambulance and escorted by the agents. Up to six local agents gave their testimony before the Court.
Pau Solá's defense lawyer argued on different occasions that the relations were consensual and that "she wanted to fuck." He also questioned one of the agents if the victim's attitude was that of a woman who had just been raped. "I wouldn't know how to classify what is the ideal response of a victim because it is so different," replied the Local Police officer.
The Biology professionals revealed that there were traces of human blood in the vagina and anus of the victim, as well as that the semen coincides with that of the alleged aggressor.
Meanwhile, the forensic doctors narrated that at 8:20 p.m., when they went to the Doctor José Molina Orosa Hospital to talk to the young woman and ask for her consent to perform a series of tests, she was unable to speak, she had restraint measures on her feet and hands and presented an "important" blood alcohol level, of 3.7 grams of alcohol per liter of blood when the extraction was performed at 8:54 p.m. In this intervention, several physical injuries were found, but no genital injury. In addition, the experts stressed that "the degree of alcohol she had was so important that the presence of any other toxic substance was irrelevant."
Finally, after not having been located by the Court during the beginning of the trial, the victim was able to testify last. "I don't remember anything. I only know that he left me as if I were garbage, lying on the floor with my pants down, as if I were not a person," she testified.
In his final plea, the Public Prosecutor maintained his request for 14 years in prison for the alleged aggressor, a restraining order of more than 500 meters for 15 years and a supervised release measure for another ten. In addition to the payment of civil liability, of 296 euros for the injuries suffered, and the amount of 6,000 euros for moral damages.
To conclude, the defense lawyer tried to put the responsibility on the victim and asked the court to "see the background of the alleged victim", as he outlined in his intervention. Phrases such as: "The attitude of the victim has been sought by her, that alcoholic intoxication" or "the attitude of this girl prone to seeking him. This lady had an attitude of wanting to have relations with him" or "she rubbed her ass against him", "she grabbed him twice and rammed him in the bathroom" were used in his final plea.