The priest's ex-girlfriend testifies in trial: "I have nightmares every night"
The ex-partner of the parish priest accused of sexual assault described to the court how she found videos of rapes on a hard drive classified by the names of victims.
The trial of Father Fran: the witness who found the folders
The parish priest of Vélez-Málaga known as Father Fran sat in the dock on Monday facing charges of sexual assault. According to ABC, his ex-partner testified behind a screen and with a trembling voice, and described in detail how she discovered the videos, how they were classified, and how her attempts to seek help went unanswered.
At Christmas 2022, the priest travelled to Málaga to see his family. The woman remained at the parish house in Melilla, where they lived together as a couple. She looked for a hard drive to watch a film—the priest had raised objections to her using Netflix—and found what she described as "a nightmare".
"I identified his hand because I know every mole on his body"
When she connected the drive to the television, the first image that appeared was of a woman she knew. "We travelled together. In that photo she is drugged, asleep, sitting in the car with her seatbelt on and he was inserting his fingers into her private parts," the witness declared. She identified the accused's hand, she said, because she knows "every mole on his body".
"I cannot forget that image," she stated, before recounting that she continued reviewing the drive and found more folders with names that she also recognised. In total, the material was organised with the names of four victims of sexual assault, plus a folder associated with another ex-girlfriend the priest had in Ardales, Málaga.
"I tried to go back and there were videos. I was frightened and went home. The next day I came back, because I wanted to see it," the complainant explained. When she reconnected the device she found more files. In the images, according to her testimony, the women were "unconscious". One of the cases affected her in a particular way: "She was completely lifeless. I cannot get that image out of my head; I have nightmares about these things".
That same night, the witness took the hard drive to make a copy. When she connected it to the computer she was able to verify that "all the folders were classified by the girls' names". She locates some of the recorded incidents at the Vélez-Málaga house, when the accused was still a deacon and studying at seminary, and others at the parish house in Ardales, already serving as a priest. According to her account, the abuse took place "when he went out with them on trips or went to weddings".
Five attempts to meet with the Vicar
The witness described the abandonment she felt after making the discovery. She attempted to meet with the Vicar of Melilla on up to five occasions before managing to be seen, but he made no report and was unwilling to pursue the matter. In addition, she sent two letters to the then bishop of Málaga—now retired—without receiving a response, despite having presented herself at his secretary's office.
"I wanted to sort it out through the Church," she declared. In her view, the complaint brought direct consequences for her: she was denied the sacrament of confirmation. She stated that the Diocese of Málaga "looked the other way". At the trial, an agreement of compliance with the Diocese on civil liability was rejected, given the existence of an insurance policy intended to cover such cases.
The priest self-harmed and threatened to blackmail her
When the woman returned to Melilla after the holidays, the priest confronted her. From that moment on, she recounted, a ordeal began: the priest would self-harm during moments of tension or when they argued, and even attempted to "blackmail her". The witness also stated that the priest consumed drugs, although the only evidence in the case consists of WhatsApp conversations in which the word "merchandise" appears.
Following a suicide attempt at the beach, the woman decided to go to the National Police. On a first occasion she was accompanied by a friend who tried to take the files on a USB drive without sufficient capacity. Days later she returned and took the computer with the backup copy of the original hard drive. The Family and Women Unit, UFAM, took on the investigation. The case is now being tried in court, with a request for 73 years' imprisonment for the accused.
The other two ex-girlfriends who testified on the day—the partner he had in Melilla and another in Ardales—also have complaints filed in Gender Violence courts.
Source: ABC