A courtroom in Alicante heard a troubling tale on Tuesday as a young Moroccan student described the harsh reality she faced after arriving in the region to work as a laborer in July 2019. She spoke about babysitting two children for a Kuwaiti businessman, an arrangement that led to a series of traumatic encounters over two months back home in Calp. The narrative she shared involved three separate attempts to assault her, all of which she described with clarity despite the emotional strain of recounting them multiple times.
Midway through her testimony, the survivor was overcome by the memories and had to pause. The impact of the events caused her to lose her footing and experience vomiting as she tried to convey what had happened. The moment marked not only a retelling but a confrontation with memories that were painful and persistent.
The defense had previously argued a different sequence of events, but the defendant managed to escape his home on September 12, 2019, a moment that began a pattern the court would revisit. Authorities reported that he slipped through the fence between properties and fled the chalet without evident difficulty, forcing the proceedings to be revisited later with the same seriousness and gravity.
Two years later, the defendant faced a separate verdict that included a 36-year prison term for three counts of rape and a charge of minor injury. The supreme court later denied a defense appeal to overturn the findings, and the person involved faced the prospect of repeating testimony that had already challenged the court’s judgments. The witnesses described a trial that revisited explicit details, with no effort to gloss over the most troubling moments.
The survivor, visibly distressed, needed a brief respite from the hearing, separated by a screen and standing a short distance from the defendant. She testified about being forced on multiple occasions, with intimidation threats and a claim that she would be harmed if she spoke out. The narrative suggested she had no legal documents to verify her status at the time, complicating worries about her ability to care for her young children while pursuing justice.
Both the public prosecutor and the private prosecution sought a heavy sentence, urging a 40-year term to reflect the severity of the offenses. That position was presented by attorney Francisco Javier Salvá, who represented the state in the case.
The initial oral hearing, later canceled by the Supreme Court, had resulted in a 36-year prison sentence, to be served in the facility where the defendant had remained since his arrest on the day the offenses were said to have occurred. The suspension of the process took place during the summer, nearly three years after the alleged crimes were first brought to light, adding another layer of complexity to the case.
contradictions
During the survivor’s testimony, the court observed a portrayal that seemed robust and free of obvious inconsistencies, at least at that moment. The defense attempted to leverage points on the record that could undermine credibility, while the prosecutor calmly organized arguments for the court to weigh. This exchange highlighted the tension between how the accounts were presented and how they were later interpreted by the jury and judge.
Earlier in the proceedings, the defendant had denied having a sexual relationship with the guardian involved. In Tuesday’s session, that denial shifted to an admission of sexual contact, with the explanation that the contact occurred because the survivor had expressed romantic feelings toward him. The defense tried to bolster this revised account using messages allegedly written by the survivor, showing affection and a claim of mutual interest. The court noted that those messages had not been reviewed by a forensic expert and questioned their authenticity in the absence of a formal chain of custody.
The question of whether those messages were genuine arose as the presiding judge, Jose Antonio Durá, pointed out gaps in the evidence and the need for rigorous handling. The prosecution had to press the matter through the court’s leadership when the accused appeared to answer only through his lawyer, a dynamic that underscored the contested nature of the testimony.
Abuse
The survivor testified that the accused was consistently forceful, calling her demeaning names and making threats. She recounted a moment when the defendant allegedly offered money to withdraw the complaint, an offer she rejected. The alleged threats and the financial enticement were presented as part of a pattern of coercion that extended beyond a single incident and into a broader attempt to intimidate the survivor into silence.
Witnesses discussed the emotional and psychological impact on the survivor, who sought help and described a desire to reclaim her life and move forward. The court heard accounts of the survivor’s mental health journey following the events, underscoring the lasting toll of the alleged abuse. The exchanges illustrated the difficult and often painful process of healing, as well as the resolve to pursue accountability through the legal system. The discussion also touched on the broader context of the case, including concerns about the survivor’s social and economic situation at the time and the consequences of coming forward.
Through the testimony, it became clear that the survivor aimed to regain control over her life and insisted on justice, even in the face of fear and uncertainty. The dialogue between the survivor, the defense, and prosecutors illuminated the emotional stakes involved, showing a battle not just over facts but over who would bear responsibility for what happened and how the survivor would be supported moving forward. This latest phase of the proceedings reflected a commitment to a careful and deliberate examination of all relevant evidence, as the court weighed the testimonies and the various claims presented by both sides. The posture of the case remained focused on uncovering the truth and ensuring due process for everyone involved, even as the emotional weight of the events lingered in the courtroom atmosphere.