Malaga’s 2nd Court of Violence Against Women opened an inquiry into a priest who was arrested for allegedly violating a restraining order against a woman who later filed a harassment complaint. The case suggested a romantic relationship may have existed between the two parties.
The defendant is on parole, and no restraining order had been issued by the Malaga judicial authority, according to statements from the Supreme Court of Justice of Andalusia. The alleged harassment case began with an investigation by the Magistrates’ Court and Instruction No. 4 in Vélez-Málaga, Málaga, where both the priest and the woman testified. The woman reported that the religious figure harassed her on several occasions after their romantic relationship ended.
Sources indicated that the court released the person under investigation on conditional liberty without imposing a restraining order. Subsequently, the Vélez court agreed to recuse itself in favor of Violence Against Women in Malaga due to the victim’s residence in Alhaurín de la Torre, a municipality under the capital’s jurisdiction, according to TSJA disclosures. In a separate note, the same Vélez court also decided to pursue a complaint of theft against the priest, with TSJA sources noting that both individuals are Venezuelan citizens.
Abuse
The Civil Guard arrested the priest after one of the woman’s complaints described an incident while he was driving on the A-7 near a shopping mall in Rincón de la Victoria. He allegedly slowed, then accelerated, and repeatedly used high beams during the drive. The woman filed multiple complaints in different provinces, and a judge ruled on the priest’s behavior as harassment over the phone and through messages urging a return to Malaga.
The Diocese of Malaga decided to dismiss the priest, who had served as a parish pastor, with confirmation from diocesan sources that he would not serve in the priesthood in the state again. The decision affected the towns of Canillas de Aceituno, Sedella, and Salares, and the priest’s status within the church was clarified by officials from the Diocese of Malaga.