The prosecution opposes the defense’s appeal sentenced to 35 years in prison for rape and attempted death of a minor in Igualada (Barcelona) in the early hours of November 1, 2021, knowing that there are no grounds justifying the application of the requested mitigating circumstances and which have already been excluded by the court in the judgment.
In its appeal, the defense does not question the facts, according to prosecutorial sources, but requests the application of two mitigating circumstances which, if applied, will reduce the penalty imposed. One of them for state of intoxication, although forensic experts explained during the hearing, held in June 2024, that it was not possible to prove that the accused was drunk at the time of committing these acts, and another due to a impairment of his cognitive and volitional abilities, although the criminologist expert also ruled it out.
The sentence handed down by the court of Section 10 of the Barcelona Provincial Court sentenced the accused to 20 years less a day for one crime of attempted murder, considering the aggravating circumstance of discrimination based on sex, and 15 years in prison for a crime of sexual assault with introduction of bodily members and/or objectswith the same aggravating circumstance.
The court imposed that after serving his prison sentence, the accused cannot approach within 1,000 meters of the victim for 10 years or communicate with them by any means, as well as 10 years of supervised release and a ban for 20 years from carrying out any activity or profession, whether paid or not, with minors, and compensation to the victim of 332,727.65 euros.
The sentence also provides for expulsion if, before being fully executed, “he reaches the third degree or benefits from conditional freedom, with a ban on returning to Spain within 10 years from the actual expulsion” . The court applied the aggravating circumstance of discrimination based on sex in both crimes for which he was convicted, based on previous convictions, a fact which the defense does not discuss in the appeal presented.
The court decision also maintains that the evidence shows that the acts were committed with the intent to kill and that furthermore the accused had acted with treachery and cruelty. It is based on the fact that in addition to the fatal blows he inflicted on his head, “which annihilated his defense possibilities, among other things because the brain damage caused prevented him from reacting to external stimuli, the aggressor , aware that he had not lost his life with the savage blows he had delivered to his head, he manipulated the victim’s body at will”, causing him suffering that he came to describe as of torture.
It is for this reason that the court found him guilty of attempted murder and not of homicide, it being understood that the author had increased “the pain and suffering of the victim, who remained in a state of semi- consciousness, thus prolonging his intention to cause him as much suffering as possible. “If ultimately the Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia (TSJC) accepts apply all or part of the mitigating circumstances mentioned by the defense, could be considered as a simple mitigating or incomplete defense, which could lead to a reduction of the rank and therefore of the sentence by up to half of the sentence imposed, a possibility that the consulted sources consider “unlikely”.
