Cloe’s ex-boyfriend sentenced to another three years for abusing her during their relationship

Last week, the court system went back to the case of Cloe, the 15-year-old girl who was killed on the Orihuela Costa. They made two rulings that keep the case’s legal future open. The girl’s ex-boyfriend has been given another three years in a closed juvenile detention centre and four more years of supervised release for the abuse he did to her during their year-long relationship. On the other side, the Provincial Court of Alicante heard the appeal against the murder sentence, which was solely submitted by the youngster who helped with the crime. Juan Carlos Fuentes, Cloe’s family’s lawyer, acted as the prosecutor.

The Guardia Civil’s study of Cloe’s cell phone after her murder is what led to the conviction for domestic violence. This study showed that the relationship was full of excessive jealousy, relentless control, humiliation, and threats. For months, the accused monitored the minor’s phone on a regular basis, read her texts, made her erase contacts, and made her remove apps like Snapchat. He even set up a system that let him know where she was at all times. The intercepted texts made it very clear that she was in a situation of domination. They included continual warnings, clear threats, and statements of complete control over her social life and personal connections.

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The defendant, who is already serving eight years in jail and five years of supervised release for the murder, has told the court that he will fight this fresh term for violence against women. He didn’t appeal his murder conviction, but this time his lawyer, Encarnación Obdulia Martínez, has chosen to appeal to the Provincial Court. She knows that this new sentence could directly affect how long he spends in prison. The ex-boyfriend agreed to writing the notes but tried to downplay what they said, saying they weren’t abusive.

The investigation of the girl’s phone showed that she had been threatened, controlled, and jealous for more than a year.

The increased term shouldn’t change the defendant’s prison status too much, since he is already over 18. He has already served the longest sentence possible under juvenile law for the murder, so the two sentences should not be combined. But the prosecution will ask that the two sentences be combined together because they are for different crimes. They thought that the crime of abuse was already over when the murder happened. The prosecutor thinks that the new sentence can be added, even though the maximum sentence for murder has already been given under the Juvenile Justice Act. However, the Public Prosecutor’s Office says that this is a legal matter that will be looked at when the sentences are carried out.

During the trial, when detectives went over everything they found on the victim’s phone, it became clear that there was a climate of control, threats, and humiliation. In court, the Civil Guard officer who looked over the chats said that the report only showed a small part of what was on the phone and that there were many more messages of similar material. Her investigation showed that the relationship followed the usual pattern of gender-based violence, with a series of events involving jealousy, possessiveness, guilt, and reconciliation in an obviously unhealthy way. She also stressed that the young woman started to feel stronger when she chose to end the relationship. In the months before the murder, the defendant sent her communications that were threats and pleadings for her to get back together with him.

Some witnesses said they saw the young woman one day with a broken fingernail, which was the only injury they could remember. The accused said it happened one night when “we were just messing around and having fun.” He also said that some of the comments were because he was angry since he was going through drug rehab.

He said that the positioning system was deployed “voluntarily and with the consent” of both parties and that they both had control over it.

The Court looks over the crime

The Provincial Court held a hearing this week on the appeal against the murder sentence. The appeal against the new conviction for domestic abuse is still being reviewed. In this case, only the kid who helped with the crime is appealing, and they are represented by lawyers Iván Rodríguez Lorente and Gregorio Gotusso Fantini. His defence says that this young guy got the same punishment as Cloe’s ex-boyfriend and that the ex-boyfriend should have been held more responsible for the crime. He has admitted to being involved in the events, but he says that he was under the influence of the main defendant and that the latter tried to exploit him to diminish his own criminal responsibility at all times.

The victim’s ex-boyfriend did not appeal the murder verdict, thus the only thing left to do is wait for the accomplice’s appeal to be decided.

The ultimate verdict will determine the criminal future of the primary culprit, but it will also set a crucial precedent on how the justice system handles the accumulation of penalties in extreme situations of gender-based abuse among kids.