Costa Blanca
Accused of raping a 12-year-old girl, a man has been acquitted

A young man who was a couple with a 12-year-old girl in San Vicente del Raspeig was absolved of sexually assaulting her in Alicante Juvenile Court No. 2. The man, who was 17 years old at the time of the reported incidents in 2023, was facing a request from the Prosecutor’s Office for nearly three years of confined confinement. He has since been acquitted.
The ruling has established that both parties engaged in sexual intercourse with vaginal penetration. However, it does not establish that the defendant, who was represented by attorney José Luis Sánchez Calvo, used “intimidation or violence” or that the interaction was “without consent,” as the victim did not disclose the alleged assault until one year had passed.
The ruling also notes that the young man was four and a half years older than the younger girl. Although the two exhibited a clear distinction in physical development, “there is no evidence that such a difference also existed in the psychological realm.”
The facts that were established in the ruling are dated back to September 2022. The minor was involved in a romantic relationship with a 12-year-old female. They engaged in sexual intercourse that involved vaginal penetration at one point while they were in her family residence. Conversely, the magistrate maintains that intimidation or violence were not employed during the incident.
According to the ruling issued by Juvenile Court No. 2 of Alicante, they terminated their relationship as a result of this purported abuse; however, they re-established it six months later and continued to engage in consensual sexual intercourse until the separation in October of the same year.
A complaint that was filed after the fact
In the same month, the girl and her mother visited the police station to report the purported abuse. She reported that her partner proposed having intercourse with her while they were alone at her partner’s parents’ home. She declined, requesting that he cease. However, the girl informed the officers that he persisted in his refusal to relinquish her and pursue another woman. He ultimately forcibly removed her trousers, and they engaged in sexual intercourse.
The ruling asserts that the minor informed her mother the day following the incident that she had engaged in sexual intercourse with her lover, but that she had not been coerced into doing so. The couple separated in October 2022, one month after the alleged maltreatment, as per the advice of her parents. The young man apologised to her parents six months later, and they consented to the resumption of their relationship.
According to the complainant, they engaged in “consensual” sexual relations during the eight-month duration of the second phase of this relationship, which concluded in October 2023. It concluded with four distinct versions of the narrative; however, the precise rationale for this ending remains uncertain.
The mother stated that they requested it after discovering that the initial relationship was coerced. In the interim, the man who was exonerated claimed that they parted ways due to the minor discovering that he was dating other women. The victim presented two alternatives: initially, she expressed her fatigue with the relationship; however, she later disclosed that she had forbidden her partner from recording the consensual sex out of concern for the potential virality of the images. The defendant’s phone did not contain any recordings, as indicated in the sentence, according to the Civil Guard.
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Costa Blanca
Sticky Vicky’s daughter quits mum’s iconic Benidorm show

Adhesive the stage act has been sensationally abandoned by Vicky’s daughter, who has followed in her late mother’s footsteps, thereby leaving behind her family’s Benidorm legacy.
The unexpected decision was made after María Gadea Aragón assumed responsibility for the adult-themed magic performances following the passing of her mother, Victoria María Aragón Gadea, in 2023 at the age of 80.
María, who had been employing her mother’s stage identity in the well-known Spanish resort, has now discontinued her performances after a decade on stage.
María performed frequently at venues including the Palladium, Zodiaco, and Rockerfellers, as well as Benidorm which is a popular destination for British expatriates and vacationers.
Des Bellamy-Wright, an employee at the Benidorm Palladium, verified that María is no longer employed in the lively Spanish city. Des stated, “Sticky Vicky is no longer operational in Benidorm.” The ‘Carmen Snake – Sticky Show’ is a similarly entertaining program that is broadcast every night at 12:45 a.m. “
The official reason for Maria’s retirement was not disclosed, and her final performance was in November 2024.
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Costa Blanca
Elche’s H&M shop closing

The Swedish retail chain H&M announced in 2024 that it would be reducing the number of stores and employment it has in Spain due to “organisational, productive, and economic” reasons. Around 50 layoffs were the result of the closure of stores in the L’Aljub retail centres in Elche, Ociopía in Orihuela, and Habaneras in Torrevieja, which had consequences for the province of Alicante.
Additionally, these were the sole instances in the Valencian Community that were impacted. The Torrevieja store was the first to shut its doors in May 2024 since that time. The Orihuela store was subsequently closed on September 14th of the same year. Currently, the Elche store has shuttered its doors. The facility was closed to the public on March 14th, following its final day of operation on March 11th. It will be entirely shut down on March 22nd. Approximately 20 employees are being laid off at this Elche store. It is the final establishment in the province of Alicante that will not reopen, and the circumstances of the dismissal were negotiated in October. The employees have departed the company with an agreement as a result of these negotiations, according to Yolanda de la Casa, the general secretary of the CCOO Services Federation in Alicante.
The dismissal terms that were established following the October negotiations were 45 days until 2012 and 33 days until the present. A gratuity of 3,500 euros was granted for the first five years, 4,000 euros for the next ten years, and a maximum of 4,500 euros for the subsequent years.
Furthermore, three relocations have occurred among the 50 individuals who were laid off in the province, spanning Elche, Orihuela, and Torrevieja. Lely Fernández of UGT l’Alacantí-La Marina informed this newspaper that these were part-time employees from the Habaneras shopping centre in Torrevieja who were transferred to the La Zenia shopping centre, which continues to operate and is accessible.
H&M initiated 2024 by announcing the closure of 28 stores and approximately 588 collective redundancies. The figure was reduced to 521 reductions in a subsequent revision.
The Torrevieja store closed its doors to the public on May 17th, 2024, and the lease expired on May 24th, never to be reopened. Nevertheless, numerous employees at this establishment were granted the opportunity to relocate to other nearby stores that were still operational. In September 2024, Ociopía followed suit, and Elche followed suit in March 2025.
The H&M group operates over 100 stores and employs nearly 4,000 individuals in the country. This decision was made by the Scandinavian company in order to “adapt and perfect” its stores in a “changing” shopping environment for its consumers. Additionally, Spain would be responsible for 17% of the brand’s global closures, as indicated by the data that the company disclosed months ago when it presented its 2023 financial year.
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Costa Blanca
Man stole fire extinguishers to sell as scrap metal

A 20-year-old male is currently under investigation by the Guardia Civil for the purported theft of ten fire extinguishers. The fire extinguishers were discovered by Seprona officers during an inspection of a scrap metal establishment in Torrevieja. The store manager and the criminal are both the subject of an investigation.
The fire extinguishers, which were in near-new condition and completely charged, were discovered by the Servicio de Protección a la Naturaleza (Seprona) officers during the inspection. The investigation was initiated due to the fact that this material is “uncommon” in this form of business, as explained by sources from the Armed Forces.
Upon discovering the fire extinguishers, the officers enquired about the scrapyard manager’s documentation regarding the extinguishers’ arrival. The manager responded that he did not possess any proof of ownership. Additionally, he disclosed that a woman and her son had abandoned them there without his permission.
The company responsible for maintaining the fire extinguishers was identified by Seprona officers after they analysed the evidence and proof acquired. This verified that the extinguishers were located in a building in Torrevieja. The missing equipment was reported by the property manager of this community of proprietors shortly thereafter.
Fire extinguishers were recovered
Officers were permitted to confiscate the fire extinguishers and transport them to the Torrevieja Civil Guard barracks as a result of the formal complaint. Upon verification of their origin, they were returned to their legitimate owners.
The individuals implicated have been identified as a result of the operation. The 20-year-old man who is supposed to have stolen the fire extinguishers is being investigated for theft, while the 23-year-old proprietor of the scrap yard is being investigated for receiving stolen goods.
The Guardia Civil emphasises the necessity of reporting these types of incidents and reminds all individuals of the significance of doing so. In order to prevent the acquisition of stolen material, scrap metal dealers must establish rigorous controls, such as document checks on sellers and items received.
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