Sexual assault on a minor

A man lived as a tenant in the house of a woman and her underage daughters . The mother pointed him out as the perpetrator of alleged groping of her 11-year-old daughter, according to the complaint, he would have touched her chest when the girl was in the bathroom. In addition, there was talk of a previous incident in which, allegedly, the accused had entered the bathroom while the minors were showering and touched his genitals . That same day there was police intervention after an emergency call, and the mother went to the police station with the minor to report, later confirming her version before the investigating judge . Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the first instance judgment made it clear that

Despite the seriousness of the allegations, the first instance judgment made it clear that was not proven that the accused committed sexual assault nor the described touching, nor the previous episode. A key fact is that the minor did not testify during the proceedings, she was summoned twice, but could not be located because she was missing.

The Provincial Court confirmed the acquittal and also considered that the accusation acted recklessly due to lack of evidence. The High Court of Justice of Catalonia also dismissed the appeal and upheld the acquittal.

The private prosecution appealed to the Supreme Court (SC) arguing that a supposed circumstantial evidence was not properly assessed and that there was a basis for conviction. However, the SC dismissed the appeal, as cassation cannot be used to “reopen” the assessment of evidence when there is an acquittal and there is not enough inculpatory evidence to overcome the presumption of innocence. The victim does not have a “right to convict” someone else, but to a fair trial with guarantees and a reasoned decision, warning that effective judicial protection cannot be turned into a kind of “reverse presumption of innocence”. right to convict ” someone else, but to a fair trial with guarantees and a reasoned decision, warning that effective judicial protection cannot be turned into a kind of “reverse presumption of innocence”. presumption of innocence turned on its head “.

Finally, the Supreme Court establishes a competence criterion after Law 1/2025, the investigation of crimes against sexual freedom and integrity involving minor victims falls under the Sections for Violence against Children and Adolescents, unless the case could also fall under the Section for Violence against Women, in which case the latter prevails.