In a case that drew regional attention, a man who had been held on temporary detention since February 2021 faced serious accusations of sexual abuse involving a minor. The allegations, which spanned several years and included the minor’s access to her own children, were challenged in court amid conflicting testimonies. The defendant was released recently after the Valencian County Court acquitted him of all charges, despite the prosecution having accepted the case and the victim’s testimony. The defense argued that there was no motive and that the charges did not reflect the facts as claimed. The timeline of statements shifted slightly, with the abuse reportedly beginning when the minor was seven in one account and when she was eight in another, indicating a lack of consistency in the details presented during different stages of the proceedings.
The court noted that the minor offered some explanations about when the first abuse might have occurred, describing the testimony as having limited detail. The Second Chamber of the Valencian County Court considered the memory of a minor to be prone to uncertainty and difficult to assess reliably, which posed a challenge for magistrates evaluating the case.
It was acknowledged that there were indications the minor might have reported events that occurred. However, the court also found that there was insufficient evidence to establish guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The absence of corroborating environmental verification and a high level of uncertainty and generality in the accounts contributed to the decision to question the frequency and nature of the alleged abuses.
According to the young person’s statements, the father allegedly showed pornography, touched her, compelled her to perform oral sex, and penetrated her on multiple occasions. The accounts referred to periods when the family resided in a town in the Utiel Requena region while caring for an elderly relative, as well as a period after they moved to Romania in 2016.
It was in the defendant’s homeland that the girl reportedly told her mother about the events for the first time, crying when describing them. The mother, after consulting with her husband, opposed the disclosure and urged the daughter to forget what had happened. The family situation worsened with threats of divorce and a directive to erase the memory of the events.
Only in February 2021 did the matter come to light more formally. The minor, aged fifteen at the time, required psychological support, and social services in her municipality activated a protocol for victims of sexual abuse.
The court observed that the possibility of acquitting a guilty person is preferable to the risk of convicting an innocent one and reflected that on the record as a guiding principle in its ruling.
The Public Prosecutor had pressed for a sentence of thirteen years in prison on charges including continuing sexual abuse of a person under sixteen and a separate count involving exhibitionism and sexual incitement. The defense, represented by Adrián Valero and Viorica Colceriu among others, contested the specifics of the case. They argued against certain forensic interpretations and questioned a portion of the medical explanations offered.
Forensic experts reviewed the medical materials and considered the anatomical details inconsistent with the allegations, noting that there were injuries unlikely to be present if full intercourse had occurred with a seven year old. The court acknowledged gaps in the record, including the absence of a gynecological examination for the minor and the lack of investigation into a potential second victim, the minor’s sister who was twelve years old at the time of the complaint. These gaps contributed to questions about the completeness of the case file.
Given these unresolved issues, the court ultimately acquitted the accused. The ruling emphasized caution, stating that protecting the innocent from wrongful conviction outweighed the danger of leaving a guilty party free. The decision underscored the importance of robust, corroborated evidence in cases involving sexual offenses against minors and highlighted the difficulty of drawing definitive conclusions from testimony that shows inconsistencies or lacks corroborating facts.
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