Nuclear issue at the Alicante hearing revealed details of an alleged incident involving a Chinese citizen and a fellow national, raising questions about influence and control. The appealed decision states that the court had no doubt the defendant, though not fully, inserted his male organ into the victim’s vagina, even for a brief moment, and that this act aggravated the offense. The court ruled that criminal sanctions under Article 179 of the Criminal Code were applicable and noted a prison sentence ranging from six to twelve years for sexual assault.
Five years, a sentence five years longer than the statutory minimum, is the final penalty handed down by the Third Division court against the accused in a case of rape. The prosecution had requested ten years.
Additionally, the order includes a ban on approaching the victim within 500 meters for five years after completing the prison term, plus a similar restraint period. Deportation from the country for ten years is also contemplated when the defendant reaches the third degree or is granted parole, along with a monetary penalty and other measures.
This includes a fine of just over 300 euros, a six-month restraining order, and compensation amounting to 5,000 euros for the injuries inflicted on the woman.
A room to sleep
The court found it proven that the convicted man and the victim, former colleagues, met in Alicante to attend a party. Since both lived outside the city and agreed to share expenses, they rented a room to sleep. This arrangement continued until 6 o’clock in the morning on May 18, 2022. The man attempted to impose himself on the woman, who resisted firmly.
He attempted to overcome this opposition by covering her mouth with a T-shirt to prevent screams and by squeezing her neck until she was fully undressed and lay on top of him, at which point the sexual assault was completed.
Desperate screams were heard; neighbors alerted the police when they heard the woman’s pleas for help.
Locked door
When the officers arrived, the defendant had locked the door and placed the bed and a chair in front of it, blocking passage and casting doubt on the credibility of his claim of innocence.
He claimed he had been drunk, a point not proven, and attributed the incident to anger over the woman’s refusal to live with him since his marriage in 1980 to a Chinese partner.
What the police found on arrival matched the woman’s account: bites and scratches on the attacker, who was also slightly injured from the struggle.
The convicted man has remained in custody since his arrest in May 2022 for these events.