The Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) has confirmed the sentence of the Malaga Court of 20 years in prison for a man for sexual violence against four nieces when they were five, eight, eleven and fourteen years old, during the summer seasons, when he played with them, especially in a swimming pool in a home. This court has rejected the appeal of the accused’s defense against the sentence of the First Section of Malaga, which convicted him of four continuous crimes involving a minor under 13 years of age and only specifies that the events began in 2004 and occurred at different times.
As proven in the Málaga ruling, and now confirmed by the TSJA, the events occurred in the summer seasons, when the accused, “with the intention of undermining freedom”, carried out various criminal acts with them. In this sense, according to the resolution, he touched one of the nieces, who was about 11 years old at the time, while she was in the pool, “as a game,” doing so on several occasions during the summer.
In the case of another niece, the older sister of the previous one, who was about 14, the abuse occurred in the bedroom that the accused had in his mother’s house, with the excuse of showing her a collection of lighters; some episodes that “were repeated many times,” says the Malaga Chamber about events still called abuses because they occurred before 2022, when abuses and attacks became unified, and from then on any event was called sexual assault.
Likewise, he touched his niece’s cousin, who was eight years old at the time, when she went to family gatherings at her aunt’s house, also at the pool. And with a five-year-old niece, the accused “sat her on his lap” to carry out these types of acts and also once in the pool.
The accused said that “he was simply playing with them, throwing them into the pool,” but the TSJA believes that this defense thesis could be accepted if it had been “some sporadic or isolated act,” but “it is unacceptable when, as here, they were repeated acts, even over several years, committed against four minors.” Furthermore, he considers it “understandable” that the complainants “were not able to specify the exact dates on which each and every episode of abuse suffered occurred, given the age they were when they occurred, the time elapsed when they were brought to light, the frequency with which they occurred and the similarity between them.”
“Minors who are immersed in a continuous dynamic cannot be required to assume the burden of recording each episode suffered in order, if necessary, to protect the credibility of their testimony and prevent their sincerity from being doubted,” says the TSJA. Thus, it explains that “in cases of child sexual abuse committed within the family, it is frequent and expected that the victims remain silent for long periods of time”, which is why it adds that “the delay in revelation and the maintenance of silence should not be interpreted as signs of mendacity.”
Finally, the Andalusian high court also does not consider that the crimes have prescribed, as the defense alleged, which is why it completely rejects the appeal and confirms the ruling of the Malaga Court.
Telephone 016 assists victims of sexist violence, their families and those around them 24 hours a day, every day of the year, in 53 different languages. The number is not registered on the telephone bill, but the call must be deleted from the device. You can also contact via email and by WhatsApp at the number 600 000 016. Minors can contact the ANAR Foundation telephone number 900 20 20 10. If it is an emergency situation, you can call 112 or the National Police (091) and the Civil Guard (062) telephone numbers. And if you cannot call, you can use the ALERTCOPS application, from which an alert signal is sent to the Police with geolocation.
