Four civil guards arrested in Castellón for simulating reports of a victim of gender violence who had been dead for three years

The Civil Guard of Castellón has arrested and removed from their posts a sergeant and three agents from the Nules civil guard barracks (Castellón) after detecting “irregularities” in the monitoring of a victim of gender violence included in the protection system VioGén who had died in August 2021 due to natural causes.

The sergeant and the officers were arrested in February, although the arrests, advanced by Cadena SER, They met this Friday. According to the investigation, the civil guards continued to accredit through reports the work of supervising the victim's situation and visiting her home, even though the woman was no longer alive. The subdelegate of the Government in Castellón, Antonia García Valls, has confirmed that the victim's death was due to “natural causes that have nothing to do with the fact that she was a victim of gender violence.”

The investigation was opened, as explained by the Government subdelegate, after the Civil Guard detected “alleged references in the VioGén system that corresponded to a woman who had died some time ago.” The action began “as soon as the irregularities were detected” and has followed an “arduous and rigorous” process, she added.

The internal affairs service of the Castellón Civil Guard confirmed that the agents were not fulfilling their obligations to monitor the victim and the case has been left in the hands of the Nules court. Pending a judicial resolution, the three guards involved are detained. “They are not active at this time (…) The sergeant is in reserve and the other three guards are on leave,” said the subdelegate. At the Nules barracks there has already been a change in leadership, according to sources close to the investigation.

The VioGén system aims to protect women victims of gender violence. There are five levels of risk: extreme, high, medium, low and unappreciated. Depending on the level, some protective measures or others are put in place. In cases of extreme risk, the woman has police surveillance 24 hours a day. The degree of risk in the case of Nules' victim has not been revealed. “It was about following up on a victim of gender violence,” the Castellón civil guard clarified.

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