The case of the sex video recorded at a beach club in Gran Canaria in June 2023 has been judicially closed. Real Madrid player Raúl Asencio has been acquitted of the crime of discovery and revelation of secrets he was accused of, while three former Real Madrid C players —Andrés García Moreno, Ferrán Ruiz, and Juan Rodríguez Lima— have been sentenced to one year in prison for a crime of distribution of child pornography.
The sentence, issued by magistrate Virginia Peña Hernández, head of Plaza number 5 of the Criminal Section of the Court of First Instance of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, was pronounced on September 3 through a conformity judgment. The resolution, dated September 4, also states that the parties waived their right to appeal, making the ruling final.
A consensual sexual encounter that ended up being recorded
The events date back to June 15, 2023, when the four footballers were at the Amadores Beach Club, in the municipality of Mogán, along with three young women.
According to the facts considered proven by the sentence, one of the young women was 16 years old and another was of legal age. The accused knew the minor's age because, as expressly stated in the resolution, they had asked her how old she was and she had replied that she was 16.
Between 2:30 PM and 4:30 PM, inside one of the private cabins of the establishment, consensual sexual relations took place between the minor and two of the accused. During the encounter, one of the footballers began to record the sexual relations with a mobile phone without the consent of the young women. Another of the accused subsequently continued making recordings and photographs.
The sentence considers it proven that, once the encounter ended, two of the accused provided the images to third parties. The investigation allowed to verify that the files were sent via WhatsApp to different contacts and groups. Some of the videos and photographs could be recovered from the devices, while other files had been deleted and could not be recovered. The judicial resolution details numerous shipments made during June 15 and 16, 2023.
The video also reached Raúl Asencio
The fourth accused, Raúl Asencio, did not participate in the recorded sexual act. According to the proven facts, on June 21, 2023, he was in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with one of his companions when, with knowledge of the existence of the recording, he asked another of the accused to send it to him.
The video was received on his phone in a single-view format, and subsequently, Asencio showed it to another person. This behavior was initially included in the accusation for crimes against privacy. However, during the trial, the Prosecutor's Office withdrew the accusation against Asencio for the crime of discovery and disclosure of secrets.
The acquittal comes after the two victims expressly stated their forgiveness to the accused.
The victims forgave the four accused
One of the determining elements of the trial was the forgiveness granted by the two victims. The sentence states that both had expressed their forgiveness in an express, free, absolute, unequivocal, and unconditional manner. The young women had previously made their statements before a notary and were heard again by the magistrate during the trial to verify that the forgiveness had been given freely and voluntarily.
The Prosecutor's Office considered that this forgiveness could have effects regarding the crime against privacy, but not regarding the crime of distribution of child pornography. Therefore, the accusation for discovery and disclosure of secrets was withdrawn, and the magistrate acquitted the four accused of that crime.
One year in prison for the three former players
The situation was different for Andrés García Moreno, Ferrán Ruiz, and Juan Rodríguez Lima. The three accepted the classification of the facts made by the Prosecutor's Office and were convicted as perpetrators of a crime of distribution of child pornography, provided for in article 189.1 of the Penal Code. The imposed penalty is one year in prison for each.
However, none will effectively enter prison as long as they comply with the conditions set by the court. The magistrate agreed to suspend the custodial sentences for one year, conditioning that suspension on the convicted persons not re-offending during that period and completing a sexual re-education course. Failure to comply with these conditions could lead to the revocation of the suspension.
In addition, the three convicted individuals are prohibited from approaching within 500 meters of the victim, her home, workplace, or any other place she frequents, as well as communicating with her by any means for two years.
They have also been sentenced to a special disqualification for three years from any profession or occupation, paid or unpaid, that involves regular and direct contact with minors.
The sentence is final
The court indicates that the parties stated at the trial their decision not to appeal, so the sentence was declared final at that very moment. The resolution thus puts an end to the procedure initiated after the investigation of the events that occurred in Gran Canaria in June 2023.
Raúl Asencio is acquitted, while the three footballers who participated in the recording and subsequent distribution of the images have been convicted of distribution of child pornography to one year in prison, a sentence that is suspended under certain conditions.
The sentence you have provided also details the file transfers made from the defendants' phones and establishes as proven facts both the recording without consent and its subsequent distribution.
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