Estepona private tutor sentenced to 34 years in prison for abusing five minors

The provincial court of Malaga has sentenced a private tutor from Estepona to 34 and a half years in prison for sexually assaulting five underage students he used to tutor. According to the ruling, the victims were between eleven and 14 years old.

The accused, now 64, taught at an academy he had been running since approximately 2000. His home was in the same building, which he used to his advantage to stay alone with the children.

According to the ruling, the teacher took advantage of his "position of superiority and the trust" the victims had to touch them without their consent.

The first event dates back to before January 2020, although the ruling does not specify the exact starting date. The teacher, after gaining the first boy's trust, convinced him on several occasions to remain in his underwear, after which he would abuse him.

The boy decided not to return to the academy after a final episode in which he woke up in the accused's bed, whom he found naked next to him.

The next victim suffered abuse in the summer of 2021, when the teacher invited him to his house to watch a TV series. Once on the sofa, the teacher began touching him inappropriately, which made the teenager uncomfortable and prompted him to leave.

On an undetermined date in 2022, the teacher took advantage of being alone with another minor to give him a neck massage with lewd intent. Using this as an excuse, he asked him to remove his shirt, after which he sexually assaulted him.

The assault on the last two victims occurred in 2023. According to the court ruling, the man repeatedly asked one of them to play computer games, during which he would sit the boy on his lap. He would then take advantage of the situation to grope him, forcing the boy to ask him to stop.

Similarly, when he was alone with the fifth victim, the man would stroke the boy's hair on the sofa at his home. The boy felt uncomfortable and wanted to leave. The tutor, after reprimanding him for his reaction, allowed him to go.

The provincial court said that the victims, given their young age, had "suffered behavioural disorders and emotional imbalances" as a result of the abuse. This has "altered the development of their personality and their sexual integrity".

In addition, the National Police seized various computer equipment from the defendant's home, finding numerous files and videos of child pornography and paedophilic content.

The court has convicted the teacher of two counts of sexual assault against a minor under 16, three counts of sexual abuse against a minor under 16 and a sixth count of corruption of minors. He has been sentenced to a total of 34 and a half years in prison. However, the maximum time he will actually serve will be 20 years.

The court also barred him from standing for election for the duration of his sentence and from carrying out any paid or unpaid profession or occupation involving regular and direct contact with children for 20 years.

The court has further imposed a ten-year supervision order and banned him from approaching or contacting the victims for 15 years. In addition, he must pay compensation to those affected, ranging from 2,000 to 10,000 euros, for the emotional harm he caused.

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