The county court sentenced four years in prison to three teenage defendants in Alicante, with two of them aged under 13 and 16 at the time of the offenses. They had reportedly escaped from a reception center in Elche, according to the second division’s ruling. Two other defendants who could not be proven to have abused minors in the same case were acquitted.
The four-year terms also include restraining orders, and the court imposed a six-year prison sentence for the victim’s protection, plus compensation of 1,600 euros. The two young men who admitted guilt under a harmonization agreement received two-year prison terms and a five-year prohibition from approaching the victims. Earlier, those two had already paid compensation to the victims, which the court considered as mitigation for damages repaired.
The proven events occurred in the summer of 2018. Two minors, aged 13 and 16, were taken to the courthouse from the reception center and had agreed not to return. They met at the Alicante train station on July 18, moving first to the port area and then to the Rico Perez district and the old hippodrome.
In that last location, they asked for lodging from local youths, and one of them offered to host them for the night in a building within the Virgen del Carmen district, known as the old Thousand Houses.
The following day, the youths went to the John XXIII parish where two defendants were present. One invited them to an urbanization pool where his mother lived. The minors bathed in the pool; one girl left on her own with a defendant, alleging a sexual relationship that occurred in the urbanization area, first in a restroom and later at a separate residence.
The court noted that the accused knew the girl was 13 years old and a minor, and they understood the implications of engaging in sexual activity with someone of that age. The other teenager, who was acquitted, stayed in the pool with another boy, and they shared a kiss but no further sexual involvement.
Alcohol, drugs, and additional allegations
On July 19, the same group of runaway minors were on the beach and at the Alicante port where one defendant connected with another through Instagram and led them to a shabby residence used as a party venue. There, alcohol and marijuana were reportedly consumed, and there were no documented cases of harassment toward a friend.
The cycle of overnight arrangements continued on July 21, when the minors were approached by two 18-year-old defendants in the Jose Antonio neighborhood. They were offered a place to sleep in exchange for cleaning tasks in a house in the La Florida district. The minors accompanied them and were subjected to sexual abuse by both defendants according to the proven facts in the judgment.
On the night of July 26, the minors returned to the residence of one defendant’s mother in Alicante. They were later found by the National Police and transported back to the special education reception center in Elche.
The court found the minors credible in their accounts. It stated that, under pressure to secure a place to sleep, some of the young people engaged in sexual relations with different partners in the buildings where shelter had been provided. Some encounters were consensual, while others occurred without consent, as the conditions of shelter created a coercive context.
The judgment reflects that the ages of the accused and the victims were central to the proceedings, and it emphasizes the responsibility of those involved in creating circumstances that facilitated exploitation. The court’s decision underscores the protection of minors and the consequences for those who exploited vulnerable youths in the Alicante area.
[Citation: Court records from Alicante, Second Division, matching the events described above. This summary consolidates the court’s findings and sentencing decisions.]