Galician High Court acquits couple convicted of child abuse in Caldas de Reis
The Galician Superior Court of Justice overturns the five-year prison sentence imposed on a mother and her partner for sexual abuse of a minor. The ruling cites contradictions in testimony and a "crucial doubt" regarding the reported facts.
Galician court overturns abuse conviction: "crucial doubt" over alleged assaults
The Galician Superior Court of Justice (TSXG) has acquitted a mother and her partner, who had been sentenced to five years in prison each for continuous sexual abuse of a minor aged 16, the daughter of the defendant. According to ABC, the sentence was handed down on 21 July and made public this Tuesday.
The decision of the high court has fully upheld the appeals filed by the defence lawyers of both accused and quashes the ruling issued in July 2025 by the Second Section of the Provincial Court of Pontevedra.
The facts under investigation occurred between late 2021 and August 2022. During this period, the mother lived in Vilagarcía de Arousa and visited several nights a week the flat her partner occupied in a hotel establishment in Caldas de Reis, accompanied by her three children. The prosecution alleged that the man took advantage of these stays to kiss and grope the minor. The mother was charged with the same offence by omission, for failing to prevent the alleged assaults.
The Provincial Court had imposed a five-year prison sentence on each of the defendants, restraining orders, a prohibition on contacting the victim, and an obligation to compensate her jointly with €9,000.
After reviewing the case file, the judges of the Civil and Criminal Chamber of the TSXG concluded that there were insufficient grounds to sustain the conviction handed down at first instance. The court states in its ruling that there is a "crucial doubt" regarding the truthfulness and very existence of the alleged assaults.
The quashing is based on significant contradictions detected in the various statements given throughout the proceedings, which prevent the destruction of the presumption of innocence of the accused. In light of the weakness of the incriminating testimony, the TSXG ordered the full acquittal of the couple and the extinction of all interim measures and civil liabilities associated with the case.
Source: ABC