The ruling on the pimps and abusers who paid to access the minor victims of a sexual exploitation network in Murcia has shaken public opinion throughout the country, especially in the region, where four large demonstrations have already been organized to show rejection of the low sentence. This week, the Provincial Court has decided that three of the intermediaries will go to jail. However, a few days earlier it had been announced the suspension of the execution of prison sentences for all pedophile entrepreneurs accused – on the condition that they do not commit crimes again – whose sanctions after having reached an agreement do not exceed two years.
The judicial process, which has taken more than a decade to resolvehas ended with sentences that many have criticized as insufficient and that have generated a great feeling of impunity. There are those who see a return to “not only pre-constitutional, but nineteenth-century” times, as is the case of Altamira Gonzalomember of the Association of Women Jurists Themis. For this lawyer, the sentence represents “an example of misogynistic, patriarchal and classist justice.” In his opinion, The excessive delay of the process has served to benefit the accusedwhile the victims, minors at the time of the events, “have been ignored and unprotected over the years,” he explained in a conversation with Public.
Altamira Gonzalo: “The sentence sends a dangerous and dissuasive message to future victims of sexual violence”
This sends a “dangerous and dissuasive” message to future victims of sexual violence, perceiving that reporting does not lead to effective justice, but rather to a tortuous process that ends with ridiculous sentences. Spain – recalls the jurist – is one of the countries “in which sexual crimes are reported the least, it is estimated that only 8%.” In turn, Gonzalo insists, ““More than 60% of sentences for sexual crimes are less than two years”That is, “there are almost no sentences of deprivation of liberty for people who have taken away and damaged your sexual freedom. It is a shame,” he laments.
His approach highlights the absence of a perspective focused on reparation and support to the then minors. In this sense, criticism is not only directed at the sentences imposed (ranging from a few months to two years), but also at the way in which the system ignores the long-term psychological damage “that these young women have suffered and that they still face, even though they are now of age.” In the opinion of the expert, the compensation and fine penalties, which range between three and 12 euros per day, “do not correspond to the magnitude of the traumas sufferedfailing to comply with the guidelines established by international instruments such as the Istanbul Convention”.
The price of the conformity agreement
The use of compliance agreements between the parties involved is another of the tricky issues, which, according to María del Prado Escoda Merinomagistrate at the Provincial Court of Tarragona, Spokesperson for Judges for Democracy, “are, however, in accordance with current legality.” Del Prado emphasizes that these agreements are not only common in the Spanish Justice, but are necessary to expedite an overloaded judicial system. The specialist has explained in statements to this medium that these pacts allow sentences to be reduced when mitigating circumstances are recognized, such as the aforementioned undue delays, a chronic problem in the Administration of Justice in Spain that has been recognized by the European Court of Human Rights.
The sentence has been more severe with the people who facilitated contact between the exploiters and the victims, than with the businessmen.
The judge, however, has also pointed out that public perception can be negative when Justice is lenient with certain profiles of accused, especially those with economic and social power. In this case, the sentence appears to have been more severe with the people who facilitated contact between the exploiters and the victims, who with their own businessmennecessary collaborators in this situation of violence. A “class bias” which, as Altamira Gonzalo points out, generates a feeling of “getting off easy” towards those truly responsible for the abuse, while “the pimps, often people with fewer resources, are the ones who face the weight of custodial sentences.”
Along the same lines, Gonzalo questions whether the victims were duly informed by their tax representation of the implications of compliance. While Del Pardo remembers that “What may be a restorative agreement for some, in the eyes of others, may turn out to be a dead letter.” Therefore, it encourages respecting the decisions of the plaintiffs.
In any case, it is not advisable to lose sight of the legislative context under which these facts have been judged. The crimes committed occurred in 2014, when the legislation was less severe and provided less protection to minor victims of this type of abuse. Starting in 2022, for example, disqualification from carrying out activities that involve regular contact with minors is mandatory, whereas before it was not. This “limits the ability of courts to impose certain sentences, contributing to the feeling that sentences do not correspond to the seriousness of the facts.” However, María del Prado Escoda Merino insists that, despite these limitations, the judges have applied the current law.
“The sentence forgets the victims”
Beyond criticism of the length of the process and the lightness of the sentences, both Altamira Gonzalo and other experts warn of a serious lack of the sentence: the lack of a restorative approach. The measures that recognize the right to psychological assistance for victims and economic reparation, in practice, have not translated into concrete and sufficient support. Gonzalo highlights the need for the judicial system to consider victims as the center of these processes, guaranteeing that their rights are a priority in all phases of the trial, from the investigation to the execution of the sentence. “The conviction does not guarantee them any of this, it is a ruling that completely forgets the victims,” he argues.
On the other hand, Judge Del Prado highlights that reparation can even be extended to the execution phase, through mediation and other mechanisms that allow victims to express their needs. However, he recognizes that These options are not always used appropriately, leaving victims feeling helpless.. Both agree on the need to improve and ensure that legislation evolves to respond in an increasingly forceful manner to this type of crime.
Meanwhile, the apparent leniency seems to continue to reveal a latent tension between the strict application of the law and society’s perception of justice. Ultimately, what is at stake is the protection of minors, the balance between legal security and sensitivity to the suffering of completely vulnerable victims. A dilemma that requires a comprehensive response to prevent Cases like this reinforce the idea that “it is cheap to attack”that impunity is the norm.
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