In early 2019, a supermarket employee in a Vigo shopping center heard unsettling words from a customer who came to shop with his wife. He told her, in a way that suggested an invitation to a trip to New York, and she logically dismissed the remark. That moment marked the start of a prolonged cycle of harassment the man directed at her. He followed her repeatedly on her commute, watching her every move, and as time passed, the pattern intensified. By 2020, he appeared in the parking lot where she parked her car and even chased her on her way to work.
The conduct escalated to the point where police intervention was required and the case proceeded through the court system. After a hearing at the Vigo Second Criminal Court, the court upheld the sentence already handed down to the man: one year and one day in prison, a fine of 2,700 euros, and an order to stay away from and avoid contact with the victim. The punishment was for the offense of harassment, a behavior that the 2015 reform of the Penal Code began to condemn more decisively, recognizing the repeated, invasive following that disrupts a person’s daily life. This reform shifted legal responses toward protecting individuals from persistent surveillance and pursuit that erodes their sense of safety.
The impact on the victim was clear. The attacker’s actions created a persistent state of fear and distress for her, especially when the offender appeared in the parking lot or shadowed her from behind a pillar, or when he followed her car through the streets of Vigo. The court described the behavior as seriously aggravating the victim’s anxiety, to the point that mall security staff assisted, directing the victim to a more secure parking area and arranging alternative access to the facility. The sentence noted that these steps were necessary to safeguard her daily life and sense of security during her workday.
Surveillance
Before the full scope of the harassment was evident in the parking lot, the victim endured continuous watching while at work. The man would sometimes arrive with his wife, but on other occasions he came alone, strolling through corridors, observing the victim from a distance, or lingering near cash registers and pillars that offered a clear line of sight over the shop floor. His behavior sought to control her movements while customers came and went. The victim felt increasingly anxious during shifts but found moments of relief when she could work alongside colleagues or quickly move through the store with less risk of exposure. The tension culminated in alarms being triggered as the harassment intensified and the boundaries between observer and pursued began to blur.