For about a decade in the mid to late 1980s, a bleak pattern unfolded at Nazaret, a youth shelter in Palma. Toni Estela, one of the former residents who later helped reveal the abuses suffered by many boys at the facility, confirmed in court the details he had long described. He spoke of repeated violations by the same supervisor during his time there. “I just hope this moves forward”, Estela remarked as he left the courthouse. “That there is a trial, and that the man responsible at least asks for forgiveness.” He also expressed gratitude to the justice system for listening after more than forty years have passed.
Earlier in the morning, the presiding judge of Palma’s Court of Instruction No. 5 summoned Estela to validate his complaint. Upon arriving at the Vía Alemania courthouse, Estela embraced José Méndez, another former Nazaret resident who had already publicly exposed the abuses and mistreatment in a book. Méndez offered his support as Estela pursued his case.
Sexual abuse and rapes
Inside the courtroom, Estela, represented by attorney Francisco Fernández Ochoa, reiterated his accusation. He reported that he was a resident at Nazaret between ages eleven and fourteen, around the mid-80s, and that he endured multiple sexual assaults and rapes by one of the staff members, identified only by initials, F.C.M.C., who at the time was between twenty and thirty years old.
When asked by the prosecutor whether the harm consisted of touching or penetrative acts, Estela clarified that both occurred. He stated that the abuse happened both at the center and in the home of the accused, located in Son Sardina, where some residents were sometimes brought during weekends. He also described trips during weekends to campsites around Sa Calobra and other parts of Mallorca, where additional abuses allegedly took place. He noted that on weekends at the accused’s home, some boys were taken to a bar on Joan Miró Street, where other men allegedly assaulted them as well.
Dozens of victims
The man now aged 68 had already been summoned to testify last September. He denied all charges when questioned and left the courthouse saying simply, “It’s all a lie.”
Other men who lived at Nazaret during the 1980s have corroborated Estela’s claims to Diario de Mallorca, saying they were victims of rapes by the same individual in that period. They assert that dozens of boys could have endured repeated assaults over a decade, potentially marking the case as the most serious instance of child abuse in Mallorca’s history. Yet, to date, Estela remains the only person to have filed a formal complaint.
Statutes of limitations
Legal experts consulted for this case agree there is little chance of a criminal proceeding because the events are largely time-barred. The defendant faces a slim path to trial unless additional complaints surface. Still, Estela remains resolute, calling for a reform of the law so that sexual abuse of children would not lapse into prescriptive periods.
Forgiveness
Estela articulated a hope that, even if prison time might not be possible, there would be a court appearance and a clear request for forgiveness from the accused. He also conveyed gratitude to the justice system for finally hearing his account and those of many others who endured similar harms, after more than four decades of silence.