Murcia court tries two men over alleged sexual assault on young cleaning worker

"I didn't want to," the victim repeated several times during her testimony before the court on Monday. She was trying to explain why she had frozen during the incident and acted "on autopilot".

According to the prosecution, the farm manager sexually assaulted her on two occasions one morning in February 2021. It holds that the man who drove the young woman to work at the farm acted as an accomplice in the offences.

The young woman stated that she had gone to the farm to work in the fields. A worker who was recruiting day labourers picked her up in the early hours of the morning and took her to the farm.

According to her account, she was told first thing in the morning that she would not be working in the fields, but would instead have to clean the house.

She went to the house, where the manager was waiting for her. He closed the door and told her to sit down. The young woman said in court that she had told him that "the house was already clean". Considering she had nothing to do there, she told him she would go to work in the field.

The young woman explained that in her home country women who put up very active resistance in such situations can end up dead or missing.

The manager's defence lawyer, José María Caballero, said that the young woman's subsequent behaviour was inconsistent with the assault she alleged. The lawyer stated that, according to her own statement, after the first sexual encounter she took a shower, went downstairs and remained on the premises until the end of the working day.

He also pointed out that she had subsequently returned to the house, where the prosecutor alleges a second sexual assault took place.

The young woman stated that she had gone back upstairs, not wanting to have sex. "I didn't want to," she replied when asked specifically about the second occasion.

The prosecution maintains that this subsequent behaviour does not allow for the conclusion that she gave consent, only that she acted out of fear.

The defence states that the young woman did not mention the second sexual assault in her initial statement to the police, but that it appeared later in her statement to the court.

According to the prosecution, the young woman's statement has remained consistent throughout and the defendants' accounts contain contradictions.

Furthermore, the manager has admitted to having had sexual relations with the young woman, but denied that they were forced. According to his statement, it was she who took the initiative.

In court, the young woman explained that it had taken her a while to speak out about what had happened. "I tried to put all that behind me. In the end, I came forward because I want justice to be done and I don't want it to happen to another girl," she said.

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