Father who faked his suicide to escape justice after raping his daughters arrested

On Tuesday, June 24th, the Asturian Guardia Civil arrested a 52-year-old man from Gijón who was wanted for raping one of his daughters. The detainee, who faced a 25-year prison sentence, was reported missing on May 12th near the Santiuste-Llanes cliffs after failing to appear in Gijón court for a retrial for similar crimes.

According to a news release, the Guardia Civil of Llanes discovered a maroon Citroën Xsara stopped on the side of the N-634 at “Los Bufones de Santiluste” in the municipality of Llanes on May 14th.

Initial investigations revealed that the vehicle was being driven by a Gijón resident who had left the town that day and was set to appear in the Eighth Section of the Provincial Court of Asturias for a sexual assault trial the following morning.

The next day, a close relative reported this person’s disappearance to the National Police Station in Gijón, and the inquiry was passed to the Guardia Civil in Llanes, who found the vehicle he was driving.

From the start, it was suspected that this individual had jumped into the sea in an attempt to commit suicide, so a search operation was launched involving Citizen Security personnel as well as various specialists from the Asturian Guardia Civil, addressing the individual’s own safety, the demands of family members, and the public interest.

After six days of work, the search attempts were futile, and intermittent daily surveillance was reinstated. At the same time, given the existing criminal record—a 25-year sentence being appealed for sexual assault of a juvenile and a retrial for a similar offence—it was possible that this person staged death to dodge justice.

As a result, officers of the Llanes Territorial Judicial Police Team of the Guardia Civil launched a police investigation and examined the detainee’s final hours, including his address, bank accounts, family contacts, friendships, employment relationships, and social media profiles.

Statements were obtained from people connected to the missing man, and various investigative methods were used, allowing his trail to be traced to the town of Gijón, where he was captured this morning. To avoid a potential court term for sexual assault on a child, the detainee attempted to fake his death. Following the production of the necessary police records, the detainee was taken before the city’s Duty Investigative Court.