He squats a house in Seville, the Police arrest the owner for a non-existent rental contract and Justice acts: “I am the victim”

Thus, Ricardo wanted to enter but saw that the key was useless, so he thought that his sister had left hers inside and called a locksmith, according to ‘Seville newspaper‘.

Upon opening the door, the squatter came out saying that he was the legal tenant and that he had a rental contract, which was non-existent. Ricardo called the Police but they did nothing, assuming that the contract was valid and believing that the squatter lived there legitimately.

A wrong arrest

After a day, the owner returned and found the squatter Francisco Javier leaving the house with bags, so he believed he was leaving voluntarily. However, the squatter returned later and called the Police to show the supposed rental contract, in addition to telling them that he lived with a minor, which was not true. At the time this was not known and The agents took Ricardo, the real owner, into custody.

This error was remedied the next day, as the judicial system released him after verifying that The contract presented by the squatter was full of “anomalies”as reported by the aforementioned media. This document did not have a clear date and presented notable manipulation of the letter ‘B’, in addition to the fact that two “non-existent” people appeared as tenants.

Rented the previously squatted home

Once Ricardo and Laura, his sister, were identified as the legal owners of the ground floor, the squatting case passed into the hands of the justice system, not only because Francisco Javier was living illegally in the house, but also because they alleged that the defendant used the home for tourist purposesrenting it to other people through the Airbnb platform.

With these facts on the table, the Prosecutor’s Office requested eight months in prison for Francisco Javier due to a crime of falsification of a private document and a fine of 720 euros for a crime of Usurpation. Finally, with the negotiation of both parties involved, the defenses finally accepted what was decided, but agreed that he would not have to serve the deprivation of liberty if he complied with the following conditions: not commit any crime in three years, hand over the keys, pay the a compensation of 2,400 euros to the owners in 24 monthly payments and to do 60 days of work to benefit the community. If you fail to comply, you would go to jail..

Repair damage caused by erroneous detention

Once the defendant’s sentence has been determined, Ricardo, the owner who was arrested by mistake when the squatter alleged the false contract, seeks that the justice system also repair the damages suffered by a mistake of such caliber, since He reported the police responsible but the case was closed.. As reported by ‘Diario de Sevilla’, these were Ricardo’s words after the trial:

«I am the victim of crimebut they still stripped me of possession of my home to hand it over to the criminal. And on top of that they deprived me of my freedom […] I’m calm, but there is one thing that cannot go unpunished. If he has acknowledged the facts, who gave him possession of the home? The Police. Instead of avoiding the commission of the crime, he continued it,” the affected person explained.

Although he acknowledges that he was right in civil matters and they have now restored the damage that the Police did then, he insists on emphasizing the ordeal he has experienced due to this situation: “If the Police do not give you the keys, we are neither here today nor living.” these two years in which I have been in a vulnerable situationwithout work and with a pension of 480 euros,” he said according to the aforementioned media.