The Balearic Islands Provincial Court will try a man this Thursday for one of the cases of repeated abuse. He is accused of turning the life of his niece, a minor with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), into a living hell of sexual violence that lasted for almost four years. According to the Public Prosecutor's account, the abuse began in 2012, initially sporadically, when the girl stayed overnight at her uncle's house. But the situation worsened from 2015 onwards, when the victim began living under the same roof as her abuser. The Prosecutor's Office estimates that the man subjected the minor to touching and penetration at least seven times a month. This raises the minimum number of assaults to 336, a figure that forms the basis for the request for a 12-year prison sentence for the continuous crime of sexual assault against a minor. The impact of living in this environment of violence has left deep psychological scars on the victim, aggravated by her pre-existing health condition. Since March 2019, the man has been prohibited from approaching within 500 meters of the young woman, a precautionary measure that has remained in place until the trial. In addition to the prison sentence, the Public Prosecutor's Office is demanding €15,000 in compensation for the victim as civil liability. The trial, which will take place in the First Section starting at 9:30 a.m., will determine responsibility for events that remained hidden for years within the family's inner circle.

The First Section of the Provincial Court has sentenced a man to five years in prison for sexually abusing his three-year-old daughter in Mallorca during visitation rights, although he was acquitted of the charge of sexual assault for which he was also accused. The man must also pay €25,000 in compensation for moral damages. The Court also imposed a restraining order prohibiting him from approaching the child for the next six years. During the trial, held in February in Palma, the man denied having used visitation rights to sexually abuse his daughter and attributed the accusation to revenge by the mother and the influence of her family. The Court, however, considered it proven that between 2016 and 2018, the man, who had a history of domestic violence and sexual abuse, took advantage of his daughter's visits to sexually touch her.

According to the prosecution's report, the events date back to 2018. The accused, who already had a record for gender-based violence and sexual offenses, allegedly took advantage of contact with the doll during visits to the prison to sexually assault it. The prosecution also attributes to him a previous sexual assault, committed before his imprisonment, when he allegedly raped the minor at his family home in Palma.

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Catalina's (a pseudonym) hands move across the table as if it were a piano. Sometimes her fingers drum; other times they hang still in the air, searching for keys that don't exist. "It helps me calm down," she says before beginning her story, which follows. She learned to play the instrument when she was a child. Since then, mentally tracing staircases or imagining music helps her to organize her inner turmoil. Even now, as she awaits a trial she never thought she would have to face.

]]> The case published today by ARA Baleares is shockingly brutal. A woman explains how, for 35 years, she was repeatedly raped by three members of the clergy; her father had also been abusive. It's a story of such stark reality that it's difficult to read and accept, but it can no longer be hidden. For too long, silence was the abusers' best ally. It's true that the social, political, and judicial reaction to sexual abuse—including that committed by members of the Church—has changed significantly compared to the years when complaints were silenced, discredited, or resolved with discreet transfers and requests for silence. Today, victims are heard, the facts are usually acknowledged, and institutions are obliged, at the very least, to provide explanations. This is an undeniable step forward. But insufficient.

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A man admitted on Wednesday to sexually abusing his underage daughter in Palma and accepted a one-year prison sentence. The defendant reached an agreement with the prosecution and the private plaintiff before the trial in the First Section of the Provincial Court and will not have to go to prison, as he has no prior criminal record. He also agreed to pay the victim €1,000 in compensation (€50 per month for 20 months) and to complete a sex education course. Furthermore, he is prohibited from approaching his daughter for the next three years. The convicted man admitted that in June 2021 he met with his daughter, who lived in a children's home and had permission to leave and see her family. At that time, the man invited her to his house. There, he touched her inappropriately and kissed her on the mouth without her consent. The man had previously been convicted in 2009 and 2013 for domestic and gender-based violence, and in 2018 for theft. Initially, the prosecution requested a two-year prison sentence and €3,000 in compensation, but following the agreement, he will not have to go to prison.

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A technology teacher at a school in Mallorca has accepted a six-month prison sentence for sexually abusing three teenage students, to whom he made sexual comments and touched inappropriately. This occurred at the start of the trial, which was to be held in the First Section of the Provincial Court, and was based on an agreement reached by the parties. The court took into account the mitigating circumstance of undue delay—the events date back to 2018—and after the convicted teacher agreed to pay €1,000 in compensation. The teacher confessed to inappropriate touching of several female students and to making sexual comments, sometimes in the presence of other students.

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The High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands (TSJIB) has confirmed the sentence imposed by the Provincial Court on the former parish priest of Can Picafort, in the municipality of Santa Margalida, to two years and one day in prison for a crime of sexual abuse of a minor under 13 years of age.

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