A friend of the victim alerted her family after seeing "obscene" messages at the sexual assault trial in Ourense
A friend of the victim gave evidence at the Ourense Provincial Court that she alerted the affected person's family after seeing "obscene" WhatsApp messages between him and the accused. The Public Prosecution Service is seeking nine years in prison.
Trial in Ourense: the friend who alerted the family after reading "obscene" messages
A friend of the victim of an alleged sexual assault that occurred in Ourense was the first to alert the affected person's family after he, who has a recognised 65 per cent disability, recounted what had happened to her and showed her "obscene" WhatsApp conversations with the accused. She gave evidence to this effect on Wednesday before the Ourense Provincial Court, according to ABC.
The witness explained that the victim arrived at her business that day "nervous and uneasy" and "as if wanting to tell something". When he began to speak, he recounted that the accused "told him to take off his clothes" and "touched his private parts", and showed her the messages exchanged with him. The witness stressed that the affected person "had never before spoken about sexual matters".
The events of 21 November 2023
According to the testimony of the friend, the events date back to 21 November 2023. That day, the victim—who regularly attended the witness's business in the afternoons—arrived "later than usual" and appeared more nervous. He explained that he had been at the accused's home. When asked what they had done, he initially responded that it was "secrets" between the two of them, before finally recounting what had happened.
After listening to his account and consulting with her husband, the witness called the victim's father to tell him what the affected person had told her.
The victim: "I told him to stop and he stopped"
The victim himself gave evidence that what the accused had done to him "he had not liked" and that "it hurt him a lot". He indicated that "he told him to stop and he stopped", and added that the defendant "kissed him on the mouth". He also clarified that, although he had visited the defendant's home on several occasions, they only had sexual relations on that one occasion. The Public Prosecution Service noted in its submissions that the victim knew the meaning of sex because the accused himself had explained it to him previously.
The father confirms the facts and the messages
The victim's father also gave evidence. He stated that his son "does not usually make up stories or tell things he has fabricated", and confirmed that he learned of the events after a family friend warned him that "something strange had happened" between the victim and the accused. He later had access himself to the WhatsApp conversation between the two of them.
In that exchange of messages, according to what the Public Prosecution Service set out, the victim wrote to the accused on the day of the events telling him that he was coming "right now", that "they were going to have sex" and that he should "get undressed". The accused subsequently responded with a "bye", to which the victim replied that they would see each other the next day at 16.00.
Two neighbours of the municipality also gave evidence as witnesses and confirmed that the accused and victim saw each other frequently and that "sometimes" had something to drink together.
The accused denies the charges
The accused denied the charges during his evidence. He insisted that he "never" penetrated the victim, although he acknowledged that between them there was a relationship "like the one two people who consider themselves friends might have" and that they saw each other "regularly".
Regarding the day of the events, he explained that it was the victim who "took the initiative" to go to his home, that he rang the doorbell "three or four times"—something he "had never done"—and that he told him he wanted to talk. According to the accused, they remained on the first floor of the building for about 20 minutes, during which they talked "about football, school and his teachers", and afterwards the victim left.
The defendant denied getting undressed, asking the victim to do so, kissing him on the mouth and penetrating him. He stated that he exchanged around 500 messages with the victim since 2017, although he claimed that he only "replied telling him to stop writing to him". He added that his phone was stolen and that those messages were deleted.
Medical and expert evidence
The forensic doctor who prepared the biological evidence report confirmed at trial that the victim had two anal fissures "compatible" with penetration, although also with other causes such as haemorrhoids, chronic constipation or diarrhoea.
Two psychology specialists gave evidence as experts and confirmed that the affected person's disability affects his capacity for relationships and his maturity, specifying that his development "corresponds to the mental age of a 12-year-old child". They stressed that the victim "is not prepared to understand the complexity of consent" or sexual assaults, and that he is a person who is "susceptible to influence from anyone".
The experts did note, however, that it was not possible to carry out an assessment of the credibility of the affected person's testimony, given that, although the account was "very spontaneous", questions of a sexual nature were "semi-directed" because "he did not want to talk about that subject".
Public Prosecution seeks nine years; defence seeks acquittal
The Public Prosecution Service sought a sentence of nine years in prison and compensation of 6,000 euros, considering that there are "sufficient probative elements" to prove that the accused abused the victim whilst being "aware" of the disability that he suffered. The public prosecution highlighted the "persistence in the incrimination", the absence of "ambiguities" and the "credibility" of the victim's testimony, which "is corroborated by peripheral and objective elements".
The defence, for its part, sought the outright acquittal of his client. The solicitor argued that the facts lack "scientific support" in the absence of "biological evidence" from the accused on the victim's body, and stressed that "an important objective corroboration" of the injured party's testimony is "lacking".
Source: ABC