Questions about whether a Zamoran man committed rape and abuse against his partner dominated the proceedings and the court clarified the absence of certainty about what occurred. The Castilla y León High Court of Justice (TSJ) rejected a retrial and upheld an acquittal in Zamora in early March 2022, despite a request for a 15-year sentence from the Gender-Based Violence Prosecutor.
The alleged victim’s statement showed gaps in reliability and lacked clear subjective or objective truthfulness, a circumstance that prevented conviction. The case moved forward despite doubts raised by the PJPT concerning charges of rape and four abuses against the wife, as reported by the Provincial Prosecutor’s Office.
One of the complainant’s contradictions was revealed as she testified about the case details. A breach in her statement to Zamora Police and later before the investigating judge occurred when she claimed she was assaulted for refusing sexual intercourse twice in November, and again at the start of December.
At the hearing, she referenced only one sexual assault, describing the couple as sexually active up to that point, with the defendant as a partner. The account differed from the indictment, which placed the events earlier in the year and described more extensive coercion.
The victim also indicated a November time frame that did not align with the indictments, describing an incident in which she was grabbed and pushed in the living room, and then thrown onto the bed. The aggression reportedly ended when the victim’s daughter appeared at the door and the matter appeared downplayed.
an adapted story
Days later, the emotional partner attributed a second incident: a punch to the mouth and being thrown onto the bed, with the assailant preventing her from calling for help. The judge questioned whether these two events occurred on separate days, suggesting the complainant may have woven the later events into the initial narrative to fit the indictment.
Given that these crimes can carry up to 15 years in prison, as requested by the Gender-Based Violence Prosecutor, the court required a complete conviction that the events occurred. The TSJ emphasized that such certainty was not achievable due to conflicting accounts from victims and witnesses.
The defense pointed to the presumption of innocence, arguing that the absence of conclusive evidence precluded conviction. Lawyer Andres Nafria highlighted the disagreements affecting the court’s decisions in the Burgos and Zamora Criminal Division.
“Contradictions and Inaccuracies”
The Zamora Tribunal noted significant contradictions and inconsistencies in the story of sexual and physical abuse, which supported acquittal of the accused. Yet it acknowledged that the victim’s emotional expression persisted over time as a relevant factor.
The Gender-Based Violence Prosecutor, Evaristo Antelo, urged the court to address the gaps in the narrative, seeking a sentence reflecting the alleged crimes, including up to 11 years for related offenses and four additional charges concerning the complainant’s sexual autonomy and gendered violence.
The Provincial Court considered the testimony of the complainant’s ex-wife and the accused insufficiently aligned on fundamental points found during the investigation and trial. The court concluded the proceedings were riddled with inaccuracies and contradictions that undermined the potential for a conviction.
The victim has no psychological report
The presiding magistrate noted the prosecution should seek further disclosures, including additional witness statements and police reports, to substantiate the allegations. A psychological report, or lack thereof, was viewed as a missing piece in assessing the impact of the alleged violation. The absence of non-pecuniary damages meant there was limited means to verify the victim’s suffered condition.
The decision also pointed out the absence of records showing the victim’s younger daughter undergoing psychological treatment. Such documentation could have strengthened the prosecution’s case, but the principle of presumption of innocence remains paramount when doubt persists.
Prosecutor: “You have to open those gaps”
In the final stages of the trial, the prosecutor urged the court to fill the gaps and address the behavior of the defendant, interpreting the stance as a claim of control: a man who believes he can sleep with a partner regardless of her wishes.
The court decided to keep the accused under conditional freedom on the trial date, with one year of temporary detention for the related facts. The acquittal was delivered, a result that pleased the defense and reinforced the innocence argument.
The court scrutinized the dating of the events, noting that the complainant placed some incidents in November or between September and October, without specifying exact dates. The narrative showed inconsistencies with the initial statements to the Zamora Police and with what had been charged in the indictment.