Six years of expulsion from Spain for leading a gang that prostituted women

A Romanian man in his sixties was tried yesterday, Monday May 5th, by the Alicante Court on two separate charges. The charges stemmed from his involvement in an organised group that aimed to force women into prostitution through an enslavement system. The court imposed a six-year ban from Spain on the man.

The Prosecutor’s Office conjectured that the defendant was accountable for the recruitment and transportation of the victims, the majority of whom were minors and originated from Romania. Once they arrived in the province of Alicante, the defendant directed them to various regions within the province or the country for prostitution.

After his defence reached an agreement in accordance with the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the accused admitted the facts during the two proceedings scheduled for this Monday before the same court as the Second Section.

The agreement has resulted in a reduction of the total sentences from 26 years and three months for the first trial and 58 for the second to a total of 26 years: 5 years and 8 months for the first case and an additional 21 for the second. This reduction was achieved by applying both the mitigating circumstance of acknowledgement of the facts and the highly qualified one of undue delays, as determined by the defence attorney, Roberto Sánchez, given that the events in both proceedings occurred over 20 years ago, between 2001 and 2004.

Nevertheless, the sentence, which has been rendered definitive after being administered in person, consists of a maximum of six years of expulsion from the national territory, contingent upon the parties’ agreement. The accused’s dangerousness and the delays, as well as the fact that he had already served nearly four years in pretrial detention in Spain, have been considered.

The defence attorney has stated that the expulsion sentence in Romania, the defendant’s country of origin, will be effective immediately. The defendant had previously served time for homicide in Romania.

The first case results in his conviction for one count of criminal association, which carries a sentence of one year in prison. They also find him guilty of two counts of adult prostitution, each carrying a one-year prison sentence. Additionally, he is sentenced to eight months in prison for receiving stolen goods. Finally, he is found guilty of one count of conspiracy to murder for allegedly running a criminal organisation that specialised in violent crimes at Fontcalent Prison, which carries a sentence of one year and nine months.

The prosecution alleges that the man, who was in possession of a cell phone, directed several members of the gang to murder two individuals with whom the criminal organisation had unresolved business. Nevertheless, the Civil Guard successfully averted the executions.

Additionally, in the second case, he is found guilty of eight offences of prostitution for minors, each of which is punishable by two years in prison; four offences related to prostitution for adults, each of which is punishable by one year in prison; and a continuing offence of falsifying official documents, for which he is sentenced to an additional year in prison.