Is Spain’s new rape law reducing jail sentences of sex offenders?

Antonio S., an English trainer in Madrid who was jailed for 3 crimes of sexual abuse, was launched from jail final month after a brand new Spanish rape legislation got here into impact.

The legislation was meant to be stricter than the earlier code in place, however as an alternative resulted within the trainer serving solely half of his jail sentence because the crime he was convicted of was not included within the new legislation.

He had paid college students to carry out sexual acts, providing to pay €1,200 to one among them for fellatio who rejected it.

Antonio S. is now one among many intercourse offenders who’re benefiting from what consultants have mentioned is a loophole within the new legislation that was meant to be a win for victims of sexual abuse.

‘He has been acquitted by the equality minister’

All the minors focused by Antonio S. had been between 16 and 17 years previous and had been his college students, former college students or their buddies.

Following a criticism in 2019, the trainer was arrested when eight of the boys accused him in a trial that befell in December 2021.

“He was accused of a dozen offences of a sexual nature, corruption of minors, prostitution of minors and so forth.
The prosecution was asking for 40 years in jail and €40,000 for the victims,” Alvaro García-Olay Samaniego, the trainer’s lawyer, advised Euronews.

On 28 September this yr, eight days after the brand new Spanish rape laws often called the “solely sure is sure” legislation got here into power, the Madrid Provincial Courtroom contacted García-Olay in writing.

“It was ex officio, with out us asking for it. The court docket warned us that this new legislation was going to come back into power and that we may current (a request) to launch my consumer instantly,” mentioned the lawyer, who added that this process isn’t traditional in different circumstances.

Whereas the trainer had already been tried, Spain’s Prison Code establishes a precept that enables new legal legal guidelines to be retroactively utilized — provided that doing so advantages the defendant.

Within the new legislation, “as abuse and sexual assault have been merged (into one single crime), now all the things is taken into account assault,” the lawyer defined.

“In my consumer’s case there was no violence, so it has been decriminalised. That is why he was instantly launched from jail”, the lawyer mentioned.

Earlier than this yr’s reform, article 182 of Spain’s Prison Code condemned an individual who exploited a place of energy to abuse a sufferer between 16 and 18 years of age.

“Exerting affect to commit sexual abuse or permitting oneself to be abused, which was thought of a minor misconduct, is now not a criminal offense. And, since it’s now not a criminal offense, he must be launched,” mentioned Concepción Roig, spokesperson for Judges for Democracy.

All eyes flip to Irene Montero, the equality minister who was the main promoter behind the authorized reform and now faces intense criticism from different opposition events, civil society, judicial organisations and even a few of her political allies.

“Because of Irene Montero, (below the brand new legislation) my consumer would have solely spent a yr in jail. We weren’t in a position to get him acquitted, it was the Ministry of Equality,” mentioned García-Olay Samaniego.

The lawyer defined his request to launch the convicted trainer was written on half a sheet of paper. The Public Prosecutor’s Workplace opposed it however had no authorized standing to cease the request.

In whole, Antonio has successfully served three years in jail, although below the brand new legislation, he solely wanted to serve 15 months.

His lawyer now plans to request compensation from the Spanish state for the additional time served.

So what occurred with this new ‘solely sure is sure’ legislation?

The Madrid trainer’s case isn’t the one one to trigger a stir in current days.

After this new rape legislation entered into power on 7 October, there have been a rising variety of court docket rulings to cut back the sentences of intercourse offenders who had been convicted below the earlier laws.

For the time being, there are 14 decreased sentences for sexual abuse in Spain, with a lot of the circumstances in Madrid.

The controversy arises from the truth that the brand new legislation removes the excellence between sexual abuse and sexual aggression, consultants say.

Sexual aggression concerned using violence or intimidation whereas sexual abuse implied different sorts of means, explains José Luis Díez Ripollés, professor of Prison Legislation on the College of Málaga.

“This new legislation was made to offer extra significance to the position of consent. So, no matter whether or not violence or intimidation is used or not, all behaviour that isn’t consensual should be condemned in the identical manner,” Díez advised Euronews.

“By placing assault and abuse collectively in the identical offence, they’ve tried to discover a center floor for the penalties,” he added.

“As they might not use the penal framework for assaults as a result of it was too harsh for sexual abuse and so they couldn’t use the one for sexual abuse as a result of it was too mild for assaults, they determined to place the utmost restrict for assaults with the minimal for abuse,” he mentioned.

The consequence has been a variety of sentences from only a fantastic within the lightest circumstances to fifteen years in jail for probably the most critical ones, by reducing the minimal sentences and rising the utmost ones.

Sexual assault with penetration, which was punished with a minimal of six years in jail, is now punishable by 4 years.

“The choice to mix assault and abuse collectively was technically faulty. We warned about this earlier than the legislation was handed,” mentioned Díez.

“It was a mistake. The previous legislation was very properly drafted. However this has been an ideological reform by which they didn’t keep in mind how the Prison Code works,” he added.

Can the courts cease this?

In accordance with Manuel Cancio Meliá, Professor of Prison Legislation on the Autonomous College of Madrid, an individual who has already been convicted, even when they had been sentenced, shouldn’t have previous legal guidelines utilized to them except it advantages their case.

“This is the reason circumstances by which the sentence has been decreased should now be reviewed. Spanish courts should do that ex officio or on the request of the convicted particular person, even when she or he is already serving the sentence,” he advised Euronews.

Cancio Meliá argues that the courts are doing this in a really mechanical manner.

“They’ve to have a look at the case correctly. This legislation is a mix of offences that had been beforehand separate, so they need to look fastidiously at what occurred in every case,” he added.

“It should not be argued that, as a result of the article is similar however the sentencing is extra lenient, courts ought to evaluate all circumstances.”

But courts face a troublesome process as a result of whereas they’ll interpret legal guidelines, they can not reinterpret the info by including aggravating circumstances or sustaining a sentence that exceeds the restrict imposed by the brand new legislation.

“Prison legislation works in line with sure guidelines, and we judges should adjust to these guidelines as a result of we perceive that if legal guidelines evolve, it’s as a result of society has developed,” mentioned Roig, spokesperson at Judges for Democracy.

Spain’s equality ministry nevertheless has blamed the actions of judges.

Minister Irene Montero mentioned the discount of sentences is because of judges “breaking the legislation” because of “machismo” and defended the effectiveness of the unique textual content. 

“This isn’t as a result of we judges are sexist, nor as a result of the legislation has a crack in it,” counters Roig.

“If the picture of those that have to guard the victims, who’re the judges, is tarnished on this manner, the one factor they may obtain is that the victims won’t come ahead to denounce (sexual violence),” argued the spokesperson in reference to the minister’s statements, which had been broadly criticised.

“The legislation has gone by means of the whole parliamentary course of and no amendments had been made. The legislator has determined and now we have to use it,” she added.

The choice is now within the palms of the Supreme Courtroom, the place a number of appeals of sexual offence sentences requesting that Spain’s new legislation be taken into consideration have been tabled.

The tribunal is predicted to rule within the coming weeks on how the brand new legislation impacts circumstances tried below the earlier laws and its determination will set the trail for the Excessive Courts and Provincial Courts.

The intention is to unify the factors for some circumstances and keep away from disparate rulings.