Restraining order for Estepona restaurant manager accused of sexual assault of three waitresses
The investigating judge has provisionally released him, although he is forbidden to approach within 500 metres of the young women
The manager of a restaurant in Estepona arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting three waitresses has been provisionally released, although he is prohibited from approaching the complainants, as SUR has been able to confirm. The detainee, a 30-year-old Guatemalan national who was in Spain irregularly, was handed over to the duty court number 2 of Estepona. After hearing his version, he was released, although he remains under investigation.
Sources from the high court of justice of Andalucía (TSJA) said that the judge attributed three crimes of sexual assault and imposed a 500-metre restraining order on each of the victims.
The case, previously reported by this newspaper, was uncovered on 19 September, when a young woman went to the Estepona police station to inform the officers that she had been sexually assaulted by a work colleague.
The victim explained that the individual, who is in charge of the business and, therefore, her immediate boss, allegedly took her to a secluded part of the establishment. Once there, he allegedly began kissing her and touching her on various parts of her body, while trying to get her to do the same to him. The girl explained to the officers that she managed to get away from the individual and then decided to report what had happened. The investigation fell to the family and women's services unit (UFAM) at Estepona police station, which began an investigation.
When they began to dig deeper, the police uncovered a sort of #MeToo situation within the restaurant. Another female worker told the officers that she had been the victim of a similar situation last August, when the same manager allegedly cornered her in a secluded part of the restaurant to abuse her.
While they were investigating these two cases, a third victim came forward, a girl even younger than the previous two, who said that she had been touched by a colleague - again, the manager - during the working day.
The officers also had the testimony of a witness who confirmed the suspect’s behaviour at work, which led to his arrest as the alleged perpetrator of sexual assaults on the three young women.
