Since the five perpetrators known as ‘La Manada’ were permanently convicted in 2019, the former Guardia Civil member Antonio Manuel Guerrero has paid only 1,675 euros of the 100,000 euros jointly owed to the victim. The assault, video recording, and abandonment of the young woman in a Pamplona doorway on the night of San Fermín in 2016 sparked a high-profile case. Guerrero now claims he wants to settle the civil liability imposed by the Navarra High Court and proposes to pay the victim 10 euros each month. This information comes to light through exclusive coverage from CASO ABIERTO.
Guerrero, serving a 17-year sentence at Sevilla II Penitentiary Center for the group sexual assault and, in his case, for stealing the victim’s mobile phone, has written a handwritten letter to the Navarra Court. In the note, he declares insolvency but outlines a payment plan to meet the civil responsibility from the crime.
Guerrero has spent 6 years and 8 months in prison and may request privileges. The Treatment Board considers restitution of damages as a key factor in granting them, such as paying civil liability.
In the letter, Guerrero explains: “Regardless of the insolvency auto on file, I intend to progressively satisfy the civil liability arising from the convicted crime by proposing a payment plan to the sentencing court consisting of monthly payments of 10 euros to the court’s deposit account, to comply with article 126.1 of the Penal Code.” The document is dated June 9, 2022, but entered the court on November 8 of the same year.
Pozoblanco’s victim remains uncompensated
Guerrero notes that he must also satisfy other civil obligations from Córdoba’s Penal Court No. 1, referencing the two-year and nine-month sentence shared by him and three other members of La Manada for sexually assaulting another young woman in Pozoblanco while she was unconscious in a car and recording the act on video on May 1, 2016.
In the Navarra Court letter, Guerrero adds: “Currently I cannot contribute more than I am paying while I am in custody, but I commit to fully satisfy the civil responsibility. If I have income, I will increase the monthly amount.” He asks the court to direct those payments to the victims. This is the only reference to the victim within the document.
“Why kiss the one?”
In a 2018 message to the media, Guerrero claimed he was not a rapist and questioned the young woman. He asked whether the assailants were four or five, whether she entered the portal by force or out of a drug act, and challenged the credibility of the victim’s account. He questioned the sexual acts depicted in the video and implied she was not truthful. This passage sparked fresh controversy around accountability and victim portrayal.
In another 2018 letter, Guerrero challenges the claim: “Do you really believe that when you have the penis in your hand it happened by chance?”
Like the other four convicted, Antonio Manuel Guerrero has spent six years and eight months in custody, in two different periods. He was in pretrial detention from July 2016 to June 2018, released with the others while awaiting a final sentence.
Prison privileges
In June 2019 the Supreme Court confirmed the sexual assault conviction for La Manada and ordered their reentry into different prisons. Guerrero has served a quarter of his sentence and may request privileges.
The prison administration and, ultimately, the probation judge grant or deny these privileges based on the Treatment Board’s assessment of the inmate. The board weighs the time served, behavior, and other factors such as recognizing the crime, apologizing to victims, and restoring the damage by paying civil liabilities tied to the crime.
Monthly contributions range from 10 to 50 euros
CASO ABIERTO has learned that the La Manada members have collectively paid 37,310 euros toward the civil indemnity. Nearly 70% of this comes from the sale of a Sevilla apartment once owned by Alfonso Cabezuelo; the property was foreclosed and later purchased by Cabezuelo’s father after the court allowed the sale to fund restitution for the victim. Prior to that, the five assailants had contributed only small sums monthly, between 10 and 50 euros, to compensate the victim.
Of the total 37,310 euros paid so far, more than 25,000 euros came from the apartment sale. In 2021 another member, José Ángel Prenda, publicly asked for forgiveness and urged the case file to reflect his regrets, though victim advocates warned that his appeal was a strategic move to gain penitentiary benefits without fully indemnifying the victim.
Ultimately, the broader pattern shows that restitution remains uneven, and the victim’s compensation has not yet been fully realized for all members of La Manada.