Two brothers have traded accusations, neither of whom has acknowledged responsibility. This is how the trial of three defendants accused of brutal robbery and sexual assault on a 19-year-old woman in Alicante ended on Friday, May 16th, at the High Court. The man suspected by the Prosecutor’s Office and the private prosecution of being the culprit has blamed his brother, but the latter has identified him as the person who got out of the car with the three defendants and robbed a young woman after following her. The third defendant has revised his account of events in court and identified the accused brother as the offender.
The Prosecutor’s Office has recommended 16 years and six months in jail for one defendant accused of sexual assault and robbery with intimidation, as well as sentences of three years, six months, and one day for the other two defendants charged with robbery. The Public Prosecutor’s Office has also asked 71 euros in compensation for the victim’s stolen property, as well as 15,000 euros for moral damages.
The Third Section of the Alicante Court of Appeals will assess the evidence to determine the accused’s guilt or innocence. The hearing revealed that the three defendants, as they admitted in court, were travelling in the same car the night of the incident.
According to the prosecutor’s office’s charge, the incidents took place approximately 1:00 a.m. on July 11, 2023, in the Plaza Mar 2 shopping center’s outdoor car park. The victim ratified her complaint in court, and according to her account and that of the police officers from the Alicante Judicial Police’s Violent Crime Group who conducted the investigation, the defendants agreed to rob a young woman they saw walking with a bag along the Alfonso el Sabio extension.
After making a U-turn, one of the car’s occupants jumped out to pursue her on foot. When they drew close to the young woman, one of the car’s occupants stepped out, and she was assaulted in Plaza Mar 2’s outdoor car park. The young woman explained that she used that area as a shortcut on her way back home, and when she realised she was being followed, she turned around, saying, “They caught me from behind.”
The young woman alleges she attempted to push away the assailant, who was wearing a mask, and yelled for aid, but no one responded. He requested for her mobile phone and, after giving it to her, led her to a secluded location, where he snatched her credit card and 20 euros before sexually assaulting her. The woman reported that she was “scared,” and the attacker fled the scene with the money and phone. He drove around 400 metres before getting into the car with the other two defendants, who were waiting for him near the tram stop.
The National Police identified the car and the route followed after analysing video footage from the shopping centre’s cameras and the Traffic Department. The vehicle belonged to the father of the two brothers on trial, and one of them had been arrested many weeks prior for another sexual assault, though that case was eventually dismissed, according to sources from his defence team.
This resulted in the arrest of one of the two brothers, who first refused to acknowledge to any involvement in the crime, including being in the automobile. He then testified in court, admitting his culpability and recalling the events in full. At trial, he changed his tale again, claiming that it was his brother who stepped out of the car to rob the young woman, and that he pleaded guilty to protect his loved one because he needed to compete in a national judo championship.
The other brother, who also pleaded guilty in one of his statements following the arrest, stated in court that he only claimed responsibility for the heist since his brother was going to become a parent, and he identified a relative as the person who got out of the vehicle to steal it. Despite blaming the other sibling in court, the third defendant identified the latter as the robbery’s perpetrator.
The Prosecutor’s Office has maintained its accusations against the young man suspected of committing the sexual assault but has requested that the court testify against the other defendant if he is not proved to be the culprit. It has also maintained the three defendants’ robbery counts, despite the defence’s request for acquittal.
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