The first section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas has judged this Tuesday a man, accused of a crime of sexual assault against his daughter, when she was a minor and both lived in the family home, in Playa Blanca. The accused has denied all the facts and has assured that "he never" touched his daughter. However, the daughter's story differs from that of her father: "He touched my private parts in the house, in the basement, at my grandmother's house... This happened almost every day," she said in the oral trial, behind a screen that protected her from her alleged aggressor.
The events that have been judged were allegedly committed from 1986, when the girl was 6 years old, until the minor turned 15 years old. The Prosecutor's Office, which is asking for 15 years in prison for this man, maintains that the accused took advantage of the moments when he was alone with the victim to "make her touchings, under the threat that if she told, he would kill her mother." Even, according to the prosecutor, the accused even forced his daughter "to perform fellatio on him."
His daughter did not report these events until January 2012, after her mother died, and she did so because supposedly he "harassed her in the jobs" she had. On the last occasion, the victim has related that he showed up at the store run by her then partner asking about her. It was when she decided to report it. She had not done it before, since her mother "never wanted" the facts to be made public, although she separated from her husband after learning of these circumstances.
"I have never touched my daughter"
The first to testify during the trial was the accused, who denied all the facts. "I have never touched my daughter. I have never forced her to perform fellatio on me. I have never ejaculated on her and I have never threatened her, never," he said before the court. In addition, he assured that his daughter "was not afraid of him", and that she got along well with her until 2009, when he went down to Playa Blanca and told her that "she did not want to see him, that for her he was dead."
He has also insisted that he "never" persecuted, sought or threatened her in her different jobs. According to him, he arrived at one of them with the intention of talking about the distribution of the Playa Blanca house, after the death of his mother.
Even, this man, a timple craftsman, believes that his daughter reported him "out of revenge, because her mother died suddenly". "It is a lie that the abuses were daily, I have never touched my daughter. I consider myself a good father," he said during the trial.
She feared that he would "fulfill his threat"
The woman's story is completely contrary to that of her father. According to what she explained before the court, the alleged abuses began when she was about 6 years old, always when her mother was out of the house, working as a chambermaid. Sometimes, according to what she has related, the alleged abuses occurred in the basement of the house, where this man had a workshop to build timples. "He touched my parts, he touched my chest, he touched himself and ejaculated. It happened almost every day. He never reached penetration, although he tried. He told me that this was done when I was older," the complainant explained.
At first, according to what she has declared, she was not aware that this attitude "was not normal". "When I realized that this was not happening to my friends, I thought it was not normal. I was afraid that if I did not let him do what he wanted, he would fulfill his threats and kill my mother," she indicated.
"My mother did not want me to report it"
The victim did not tell anyone about these events until she was about 15 years old. "We were going to Arrecife by car my mother, my aunt and I. I started crying and they asked me what was happening. I told it. My mother told me why I had not said it before and kicked him out of the house," she assured. When asked by the defense, she has denied that her mother told her "shut up girl, you are a liar."
However, the mother did not want her to report these events "so that no one would know, because everyone was going to find out." However, years later, her father "showed up at all the jobs" she had and she felt "panic", so she reported the events.
A news story on the radio
The complainant's aunt also testified as a witness in the oral trial, who was aware of these events when her niece told her in a car. "On the radio they were giving a news story about a father who abused his girl. She shrank and started crying. She told us that her father did the same to her. My sister did not believe it, she said that her husband was very serious. In the end, she ended up believing it," she assured.
However, she had to "pressure" her sister to "take action on the matter." "I told her that if she did not report it, I would and I would take the girl," she indicated. Shortly after, she separated from her husband.
The psychologists support the victim's version
Both the psychologist and the psychiatrist of the complainant have related her episodes of "anxiety" and the "real panic" towards her father. In addition, they have pointed out in the trial that this woman has "a coherent and credible discourse." The two judicial experts who have testified in the oral trial have also spoken in the same sense, who have insisted that the complainant "meets criteria that are incompatible with her testimony being false."
After listening to all the testimonies, the prosecutor has maintained her request for 15 years in prison for this man for an alleged crime of continued sexual assault, while the defense has requested his acquittal. The accused has not wanted to make use of his last word and the trial has been seen for sentencing.