The Sixth Section of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas has acquitted N.S.S., 53 years old and a native of Mauritania, of a crime of sexual assault, which had been reported in Lanzarote by a 15-year-old girl, who became pregnant after having relations with him. The accused, who had no criminal record, was deprived of liberty from June 9, 2010 until this Wednesday, and had always maintained that "who took the initiative" of the sexual encounter they had was the young woman.
The ruling considers that "the circumstances in which the sexual relationship occurred have not been proven, nor consequently that there was violence or intimidation." The Prosecutor's Office was asking for nine years in prison for N.S.S., while his defense requested free acquittal, which he has finally achieved.
According to the ruling, the complainant, born in 1994, filed a complaint in Lanzarote against this man on June 8, 2010. In it, she stated that the defendant "was a friend of her father and that on an unspecified date in January 2010, while both were in the complainant's home, along with her 3-year-old younger sister, the accused held her in the courtyard of the house by the arms." "He threw her to the ground, telling her 'don't move' and penetrated her vaginally. The accused then told her not to say anything because her father was not going to believe her," according to the complaint.
The accused stated during the trial that he did indeed have "a sexual relationship" with this young woman, but that it was "sought and consented to by her." As a result of this relationship, the girl became pregnant. The ruling of the Provincial Court of Las Palmas states that "there is not sufficient evidence" to "consider the accused the perpetrator of this crime" and, furthermore, points out that "the only and exclusive evidence against the accused is the victim's statement."
The magistrate indicates in the ruling that the complainant "has not maintained exactly the same version of the events since the initial complaint." Thus, he explains that in her initial complaint she stated that in January 2010 the accused "held her by the arms, knocked her to the ground and penetrated her vaginally." However, during the trial the young woman stated that the man "took her by the hand and told her to lie down on the ground." Furthermore, in her summary statement the complainant related the events "in a different way" and referred to "her attempt to break free from her aggressor when he was on top of her, while in the trial she stated that she did not try to move because she was afraid."
Likewise, the ruling reveals that the young woman did not report the events until five months after they were allegedly committed, when "her state of pregnancy was notorious." "It is not understood that she took so long to report it, even more so when she had become pregnant," the ruling states.
"The pregnancy would enrage her father"
A witness testified at the trial that the young woman told her what had happened in April, when she told her that "she had been raped by a friend of her father." "She told him this at the insistence of the witness about who the father was, given that the state of pregnancy was notorious," the ruling indicates. Similarly, another witness, a teacher at the complainant's educational center, stated that it was at the end of May when she asked her about her pregnancy and then she told her about this alleged rape, which according to the ruling did not exist. "The victim does not tell anyone what happened, not even her friend, until more than three months have passed since the events and only when she is asked about her pregnancy," the magistrate indicates.
Furthermore, the document states that "there is no evidence of the existence of animosity of the young woman towards the accused, but it is true that when she became pregnant, it would be evident that she had had sexual relations, which according to the victim herself would enrage her father."
The Provincial Court of Las Palmas points out in this ruling that "it does not appear that the complainant had been psychologically affected during the five months that it took her to report the events, contrary to what is usually the case." "She did not need psychological assistance and, according to her, she did not suffer any change in her school rhythm. While it is true that she has been in a reception center until recently, it has been due to the rejection she suffered from her father, according to the young woman herself," the ruling indicates, which acquits this Mauritanian citizen of a crime of sexual assault.
Against this ruling, which is not final, an appeal for cassation may be filed before the Supreme Court, although the Provincial Court already ordered the release of N.S.S. last Wednesday, after spending almost a year and a half in prison.