Judicial authorities in Las Palmas have upheld a severe sentence against the professional who worked at a tourist resort in the south of the island, after dismissing appeals and confirming the evidentiary value of the underage victim's testimony. The court ruling corroborates the commission of a crime of sexual abuse against a minor under 16 years of age, thus punishing the complete breach of trust placed by the family in the facilities provided for physical therapy.
The events in question date back to a day in February when the minor, a Norwegian national, went to the defendant's massage parlor seeking relief from a lower back ailment. The perpetrator, taking advantage of a relationship of trust cultivated over years with the victim's family, shifted the focus of the massage to intimate areas and committed the illicit acts while the patient was in a state of complete vulnerability.
During the investigation and subsequent trial, the defendant's legal team raised multiple procedural objections, alleging procedural unfairness due to supposed investigations conducted behind the defendant's back and claiming violations of legal deadlines for the investigation. Furthermore, the lawyers challenged the strength of the charges, arguing contradictions in the chronological account and the inapplicability of the aggravating circumstance of breach of trust.
The judges systematically dismantle each of the defense's arguments. The court ruling emphasizes that the accused had formal and substantive knowledge of the investigation from its initial stages, dismissing any claim of formal lack of due process. Likewise, the court validates the calculation of procedural deadlines in accordance with the principles of regulated retroactivity and the procedural regulations in force during the preliminary investigation.
The core of the legal argument rests on the strength of the Norwegian minor's testimony, whose account the court has described as consistent, credible, and devoid of spurious elements or ulterior motives. The high court's jurisprudence insists that the victim's statement constitutes sufficient evidence to overturn the fundamental right to the presumption of innocence, especially in crimes committed in clandestine environments where judicial immediacy plays a crucial role.
The victim's account was corroborated peripherally by key pieces of evidence, including statements from eyewitnesses and relatives, psychological and forensic expert reports, and video evidence seized at the establishment during the on-site inspection. This technical evidence revealed the existence of illicit recordings in the treatment rooms, establishing an irrefutable incriminating case for the judges.
The final sentence imposes a four-year and one-day prison term on the massage therapist, along with a ten-year ban on approaching or communicating with the minor victim, a Norwegian national. The ruling also includes extended professional disqualifications and subsequent supervised release, thus concluding a legal proceeding that underscores the enhanced protection of minors against abuse in therapeutic settings.
