Cristóbal L. C., aged 50, operated a fruit stand in the town of Valdeavero, near Madrid. One routine day he invited a 15-year-old to his home and sexually assaulted him. Madrid Provincial Court has handed down a sentence that reflects a pattern of abusive conduct toward minors. The man, nicknamed El Toba, was convicted on multiple counts and received a total of 19 years behind bars: 12 years for sexual assault on a minor and seven more years for two separate offenses involving corruption of minors.
The written verdict, obtained by EL PERIÓDICO DE ESPAÑA for the first time, rests on a substantial body of evidence. This includes a WhatsApp chat between the convicted individual and his victim dated October 4. Within those messages, statements reveal a troubling mindset, including phrases that indicate a predatory mentality and a sense of impunity.
This case marks the first conviction in a cluster of proceedings against a man who had more than a dozen additional cases pending for the same offenses. The allegations describe a pattern of luring teenage boys from Valdeavero to his home pool where sexual assaults allegedly occurred after gaining their trust.
Financial incentives and coercive tactics
The court found credible proof that Cristóbal had direct contact with a minor who was 15 years old during the summer of 2020. He used a communications platform to engage with the teenager and to confirm his age, having previously obtained the youth’s identification details. In late July of that year, he created a WhatsApp group with the minor and another boy of similar age. The messages show him offering money for sexual activity, starting with 80 euros for both boys and later increasing the offer to 100 euros provided the youths shared explicit content or engaged in video calls. He also pressed for more material to determine physical characteristics. These exchanges are central to establishing the predatory scheme.
On August 14, 2020, one of the youths was sexually assaulted after Cristóbal misrepresented himself as a police officer. He invited the youth to his home in Valdeavero and, after a poolside invitation, compelled him to comply with sexual acts. The court notes a troubling line in the perpetrator’s behavior, underscoring the abuse of authority and the grooming sequence that trapped the victim.
The site of the events also served as a backdrop for the perpetrator’s duplicity. Investigators documented a residence and a vehicle whose conditions matched the minor’s account, a detail the defense attempted to minimize as incidental. The verdict emphasizes that the evidence from the home environment corroborated the victim’s testimony, reinforcing the severity of the crimes.
False authority and coercion
According to the court, the defendant deployed a strategy of gaining trust and influence by presenting himself as a local authority figure. This manipulation helped him keep the minor at home and coerced him into sexual relations. Even when the teenager resisted, Cristóbal allegedly used threats or force to override the boy’s consent. The judges’ assessment of the evidence portrays a pattern of coercive control that extended beyond a single incident.
The court details conversations in which the accused repeatedly pressed the minor for explicit material, referring to the youths with terms meant to solicit compliance. The communications reflect a calculated approach to obtaining sexual content, underscoring the criminal nature of the acts and the exploitation of vulnerability.
There is danger at home
The judges stressed that the defendant offered no credible explanation for his actions. He denied the core facts, acknowledged some details about his home and car that align with the victim’s account, yet attempted to minimize responsibility by arguing that the events could have been misinterpreted or caused by a third party. In the account of investigators, the defendant indicated that there might have been children in the house and that devices were present, but he stopped short of admitting wrongdoing or recognizing a continuous pattern of abuse.
When confronted with the secret conversations found on his phone, Cristóbal suggested that the past insinuations might involve third parties and alleged misuses of the devices involved. The judges concluded that such explanations failed to resolve the harm caused and did not mitigate the seriousness of the offenses.
In addition to the August 14 assault, the court considered WhatsApp exchanges involving two other teenagers in which he requested pornographic material, fully knowing they were underage. He directly sought compromising photographs and referred to the youths in terms that signaled a desire to view or obtain explicit images or video content.
Ongoing cases and outcomes
Beyond the current sentence, the case highlights a wider pattern of allegations against a resident of Alcalá de Henares who spent more than a decade running a grocery business in Valdeavero. Cristóbal had several underage children in his life at the time, and authorities report that he targeted younger youths through social circles and local sports activities, inviting them to his home pool under the guise of friendly interaction before the alleged abuse.
Last April, prosecutors filed a new request related to another 15-year-old boy involving sexual exploitation, indecent exposure, and corruption offenses, with a provisional charge of 100 euros for sexual intercourse and demands for explicit images. The case was reviewed by the Instruction Court No. 6 of Alcalá de Henares, with a demand for an additional five-year sentence if the court finds in favor of the prosecutor.
Legal representatives for many complainants expressed a degree of expectation about the sentence and stated that the verdict aligns with ongoing parallel proceedings. They emphasized the conduct as part of a broader pattern of sexual harassment and coercive behavior toward minors, underscoring the potential for further legal action and additional years of imprisonment to be imposed in related cases.
According to a spokesperson involved in multiple complaints, the sentence confirms concerns about the perpetrator’s conduct and signals the likelihood of further convictions in related matters. The aim, from their perspective, is to ensure justice for the victims and to reflect the seriousness of abuses committed against minors in the community.