Valencia’s juvenile court granted a sentence that combined a three-month program of socio-educational duties with broader lessons about using new technologies responsibly. The case centered on a minor who leaked a private video involving a 12-year-old girl, a victim of a brutal assault in Burjassot last May. The leak involved a recording created by a minor who had sent it voluntarily, but not to be shared publicly. The timeline shows the relationship between the teen and his partner ended amid allegations of serious sexual offenses.
In the end, the court imposed three months of retraining and corrective actions, a comparatively light sanction given the gravity of the facts. The accused, who is now almost 17, faced charges that included the disclosure of a private recording, the obligation to compensate the minor with 1,200 euros, and payment of hearing costs. The agreement was reached with the involvement of the prosecutor, the defense, and a special prosecutor, with the Valencian criminal lawyer Juan Carlos Navarro representing the girl’s mother.
It has nothing to do with multiple rape
What followed drew attention because the same video appeared in connection with another case handled by a lawyer who represents one of the defendants in a group-rape investigation. The Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office publicly indicated that the group-rape case could carry a total sentence of about 21 years. The publication that day showed the juvenile judge addressing the matter after the detainees’ arrest, while questions lingered about attempts to cast doubt on the girl’s private life despite the serious sexual violence she endured. The judge in that case is the same one who presided over the related matter.
What remains unclear from the sentence and the ongoing investigation is how the video, originally sent by the minor to his then-partner, ended up in the hands of those accused of the gang rapes. Neither the individuals convicted nor those charged with sexual assaults had any previous known ties to the video.
Current records show that the girl and the person now convicted served the same sentence range for the January–February 2022 period. When the relationship ended, the younger boy was 12 and the older teenager 15. He has since acknowledged posting several sex videos of the trade within an Instagram group that included the couple and another pair.
Crime of revealing secrets
That was only the beginning. In the weeks that followed, the private recording circulated to two additional girls. The video travelled through multiple hands in an unregulated way, leading to an ongoing charge of revealing secrets and compromising private information.
When the victim disclosed the incident to her mother, a report was filed with the National Police. Coincidentally, this complaint was submitted six days before the Burjassot rape occurred at the abandoned house. The two crimes are not connected by motive or chronology apart from the video surfacing before the court and affecting the reputation of those involved with potential risks to the victims.
Serious psychological consequences
The court’s sentence notes that the victim developed marked post-traumatic symptoms and that the events had a profoundly negative impact on her well-being, according to a psychological assessment from the Valencia Institute of Forensic Medicine. The report describes a vulnerable situation and a maladaptive psychological profile, underscoring the need for ongoing mental health care to prevent re-victimization and to support the long, uncertain judicial process.
It stresses the importance of sustained mental health treatment as the emotional and psychological state deteriorates after exposure to the assaults, which involved a minor and a group of three juveniles. One participant could not be charged due to age restrictions, and another did not meet the legal threshold for liability for a crime under the applicable law.
C. Seguí has a new lawyer: Múgica’s son
The case extends beyond the earlier leak. Valencia’s investigative court has opened proceedings against extremist figure Cristina Seguí, co-founder of a political party in the region and head of a civic association. Another recording spread publicly in which two girls who were victims of the Burjassot rapes and a friend discussed the events.
The prosecutors have sought a prison term of about four and a half years for Seguí for these actions. They argue that tweets denying rapes and altering the perceived ages of the minors contributed to exposing the teenagers’ identities and revealing private information.
In the latest phase of the case, Seguí changed counsel at the courthouse door. The previous advocate stepped away, and Rubén Múgica Heras, son of a historic political figure, took over the defense on December 28.
Rubén Múgica has criticized the government leadership for its stance toward the heirs of accused criminals. He later ran for a seat in the national Congress with a new party after leaving his previous political group.