The judgment carries a prison term of 17 years and six months for a man who repeatedly sexually assaulted two 10-year-old twin sisters living in his home. The girls and their mother, a friend of the defendant’s wife, had moved in after a family dispute. The ruling, released by the Tribunal Superior de Justicia de la Comunitat Valenciana (TSJCV), concerns abuse between September and November 2024.
The court said the man targeted the girls when they were alone in the bathroom and their mother was away. He touched them inappropriately and forced kisses on them, ignored their explicit refusals, and entered the bathroom on the pretext of supervising them in the shower. The assaults continued for several weeks. He also assaulted the girls in their beds when circumstances allowed.
The defendant threatened the girls to keep them silent, warning that authorities would separate them from their mother if they disclosed the abuse. When they resisted or called for help, he physically restrained them and covered their mouths. The judges accepted the sisters’ testimony as credible and genuine, finding no indication it was fabricated or shaped by outside influence.
The court ordered the man to pay each victim €5,000 for moral damages. He is barred from approaching or communicating with the girls for a period extending four years beyond his prison term. He is also prohibited from working in any capacity involving contact with minors for five years after his release. Spanish criminal law allows courts to impose protective measures alongside prison sentences in cases involving sexual offences against minors, including restrictions on contact and work with children.
The ruling is not final and may be appealed to the TSJCV’s Sala de lo Civil y Penal. It is a first-instance judgment and remains subject to appeal.
The case adds to concerns about minors’ safety in domestic settings, an issue raised in other Spanish court proceedings. In a separate incident, a man in Málaga was jailed after admitting to the fatal beating of his flatmate, as reported in coverage of violent crime cases in Spain. The cases are distinct, but both highlight the challenges authorities face in protecting vulnerable people in private homes.
Spain has seen high-profile cases involving crimes against minors in recent years, prompting calls for stricter oversight and better support for victims. Courts can impose impressive prison terms for sexual violence against children, along with restrictions intended to prevent offenders from contacting victims or working with minors.
