Suspected paedophile arrested five years after fleeing trial in Malaga

A suspected paedophile, 36, has been arrested once again after absconding during trial in Malaga five years ago. He fled after the first hearing, which had granted him provisional release. His recent arrest took place in the Netherlands by virtue of a European and international arrest warrant. He is facing 34 years in prison for several sexual crimes against two minors.

The man is accused of continuously abusing a 13-year-old girl, who he also allegedly used to produce pornographic material. He is also accused of sexually assaulting a15-year-old boy, whom he allegedly coerced and threatened in order to get him to agree to his demands.

According to sources, the first hearing of the trial was held in November 2019. It was not until the middle of the following year when, without the trial having been completed, he stopped appearing, which led to the issuing of an international arrest warrant for his arrest two years later.

After five years, the trial is scheduled to resume this week. After his arrest in the Netherlands and since May last year, he has been provisionally held in prison in order to avoid another escape that could delay the trial even further.

The case under investigation dates back to Christmas 2015, when the defendant used his link to a younger cousin to befriend a group of minors who used to meet near his home in Fuengirola. At the time, he was 26 years old.

In a matter of weeks, he had gained the trust of the teenagers, among whom was the 13-year-old victim. On several occasions, the defendant took her to his home, where they had at least four sexual encounters. At least one of them was recorded.

According to the prosecution, although the girl expressed her unwillingness to maintain such relations, the man "forced" her, using deception, coercion and intimidation so that she would follow his orders and not tell anyone about what was happening.

In her account, the girl, who is now 22 years old, said that he had used a taser on her and that, on one occasion, he had put a substance in her drink in order to take her clothes off and film her. In addition, the prosecution says that he not only produced child pornographic material with the minor, but also exhibited and disseminated it.

The defendant allegedly assaulted the other victim in January 2016. According to the indictment, he took the 15-year-old boy to the back of a building, where he told him that he knew things about his family and that he would harm him and those around him if he did not agree to his sexual demands. His threats, according to the prosecution, generated "great fear and uneasiness" in the boy, so he obeyed.

The prosecution is asking for a 34-year prison sentence for the crimes of continuous sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age, child pornography and another sexual assault of a minor. In addition to the prison sentence, the prosecution is asking for a 20-year restraining and no-contact order in relation to his victims.

To the abovementioned crimes, the girl's private lawyer has added a crime against public health and another one of corruption of minors. For this reason, he has asked that the defendant serve 32 years for sustained psychological injury, which prevents the victim from leading the normal life of a person her age. The damage she has sustained has made leaving home and interacting with people other than her family very difficult.