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Landowner pleads guilty in Julen case and accepts suspended jail sentence
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David Serrano, the owner of the land where the toddler fell down a borehole last year, admitted charges of manslaughter through negligence in court on Tuesday.
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The judge ratified the settlement agreed between Serrano and Julen's parents on Monday, handing down a year's suspended jail sentence
David Serrano, the owner of the land on which two-year-old Julen fell down a 100-metre borehole in Totalán in January last year, pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter through negligence in a Malaga court on Tuesday morning.
The judge ratified an agreement reached on Monday between Serrano and the parents of Julen to avoid a painful trial due to start on Tuesday.
Serrano agreed to accept the suspended prison sentence of one year handed down by the judge and to pay damages awarded by the court to Julen's parents, José Roselló and Vicky García.
These damages were set at just under 180,000 euros (89,529.67 euros each). The judge also ordered Serrano to pay 663,982.45 to the Junta de Andalucía to cover the cost of the rescue operation.
José Roselló and Vicky García were present in court with their lawyer on Tuesday morning to hear the sentence. Serrano expressed his remorse for the events of 13 January 2019, admitting his responsibility for the toddler's death.
"I never wanted the boy to come to any harm," he said.
