Surf instructor convicted of sexually assaulting his underage student in Alicante

The Alicante Court has sentenced a 46-year-old surf instructor to 18 months in prison and a daily punishment of 6 euros for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl on a surfboard in the water. He knew her from giving her surf lessons.

On August 12th, 2021, both of them were in the water in front of the Cape of Las Huertas in the city of Alicante.

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The Third Section’s verdict, says that the accused, who was born in Venezuela, met the victim and recommended they go out to sea together on a surfboard. The defendant brought out two glasses of wine and encouraged the victim to make a wish so they could toast when they got to the buoy that marked the swimming area, which was a long way from the coast.

Then, pretending to show her how to keep her balance, he told her to stand on the board with her knees and elbows on it while he lay face up underneath her. After that, he told her to sit on his waist and touched her legs, buttocks, and breasts, but she told him to stop.

The man who was found guilty also told her to take down her trousers, but she said no and that she wanted to go back to the beach.

The young woman cried when she got to land and saw her father. She informed him what had happened, and they rushed to the Red Cross station to report it. A criminal complaint was filed, which led to the trial on October 20th.

The court believes the victim’s account of the sexual assault to be true and consistent, with no clear motive for harming the defendant. The defendant, on the other hand, denied the facts, saying that he was gay and lived with his partner, and therefore claimed that the young woman had misunderstood what happened.

The conviction for sexual assault includes the mitigating factor of unnecessary delays because of the time that passed between the crime and the trial.

Along with the 18-month fine, the judgement says that the defendant must keep at least 500 metres away from the victim for two years and pay €1,000 for moral damages. You have ten days to appeal the decision to the High Court of Justice (TSJCV).

Author: Derek Appleton