A Salamanca therapist sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing a woman with psychological problems
The Provincial Court of Salamanca has imposed an eight-year prison sentence on a psychology professional who abused a woman with mental health problems during a session in his surgery.
A Salamanca therapist sentenced to eight years in prison for abusing a woman with psychological problems
The Provincial Court of Salamanca has imposed an eight-year prison sentence on a mental health professional who exploited his position to sexually assault a woman who attended his surgery. The judicial ruling, which may be appealed, also establishes a restraining distance of 250 metres and financial compensation of €25,000.
According to information published by ABC, the abuse took place in February 2024. The victim received psychological treatment from the beginning of 2022, when she took on the care of a family member with terminal cancer, a situation that generated in her a severe depressive episode with suicidal thoughts.
The convicted man took advantage of the vulnerable state and the dependency relationship that the patient developed. During appointments, he progressively intensified the nature of his comments, from inappropriate physical contact to expressions of a sexual nature. At one point, he ordered her to touch her intimate areas and subsequently penetrated her digitally via the vagina and anus.
The judges found proved that the accused acted with lustful intent and used his role as a specialist to dominate the woman, who was in a condition of particular weakness due to suffering from a mental disorder. The victim, who at first attempted to discontinue therapy, returned to the surgery because of the emotional bond that had been created.
The victim recounted what happened to a friend and to another colleague in the sector, who urged her to file a report. The ruling emphasises that the woman already had a pre-existing psychological condition, but that following the events her depressive episode has intensified to the point that "she can hardly go out into the street, cannot have contact with men, nor can she even have contact with her own body".
Source: ABC