Man sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping 12-year-old girl in Cádiz
The Cádiz Provincial Court has imposed a 10-year prison sentence on a man who sexually assaulted a minor of 12 years old during a summer holiday in the Cádiz mountains in 2018. The victim, who lives in France, has expressed her satisfaction because the ruling demonstrates that such crimes can be pro
Man sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping 12-year-old girl in Cádiz
A court in Cádiz province has imposed a ten-year sentence of imprisonment on an individual who sexually abused a minor of twelve years during the summer of 2018. In addition to the main sentence, the defendant must serve a further six months for intimidating the victim with a bladed weapon, and pay financial compensation of nine thousand euros, according to EL MUNDO.
The assault took place in a municipality in the Cádiz mountain region, where the girl was spending the summer at her grandparents' home. A family acquaintance, the father of a playmate with whom she used to spend time, invited her to spend the night at his home. During the night, while everyone was sleeping in the same room, the man began to grope the child. She tried to take refuge in the bathroom, but the attacker reached her, threw her against the wall, covered her mouth to silence her, and committed rape. Afterwards, armed with a kitchen knife, he whispered to her that he would kill her if she revealed what had happened.
For years, the minor suppressed the trauma. It was not until 2022 when, during sessions with a psychologist, she gradually revealed the nightmare she had lived through. Her mother, who heard fragments of the testimony from outside the consulting room, filed a complaint with the French Gendarmerie in the spring of 2023.
The expert report reflects the devastating consequences of the abuse: panic attacks, rage, feelings of guilt, depression and humiliation. The young woman developed sleep disturbances and eating disorders, even attempting to take her own life on two occasions through drug overdose. She also self-harmed. Her school trajectory collapsed: within just eight weeks she accumulated twenty sanctions for inappropriate behaviour, was expelled from secondary school on repeated occasions, and missed classes repeatedly.
At the oral hearing, the victim's grandfather recounted that, after discovering the truth, he confronted the perpetrator verbally in a bar. The latter was unable to react other than by lowering his gaze. The grandmother added that her granddaughter feared that the convicted man would cross the ocean to murder her in her new country of residence.
The expert who testified in the proceedings explained that the time gap between the facts and the complaint is common in similar cases, where the victim feels loyalty towards people close to the perpetrator and profound shame that paralyses her.
Through her lawyer, Inés Alba Palerm, the young woman—who is now nineteen years old and lives in French territory—has commented on the judicial ruling. Although she does not yet know if it has brought her inner peace, she celebrates that it may deter potential predators. She considers, however, that the sentence is inadequate for the harm caused. "I am aware that the guilt is not mine," she has stated.
The legal representatives of the injured party emphasise the significance of this ruling: it establishes that sexual abuse can be successfully prosecuted even after considerable time has passed, provided that the victim's account is coherent, firm and credible, and is supported by expert and witness testimony.
Source: El Mundo