Priest on trial in Málaga, Spain, denies sexual assault charges and says videos are fake

The 35-year-old priest from Málaga, identified in the case as Francisco J.C., is on trial for allegedly sedating and sexually assaulting four women between 2014 and 2018. He has denied the allegations and says the videos in which he appears to be seen assaulting them are fake, asserting that the situations “never” occurred. The trial began the previous Monday in the First Section of the Málaga Provincial Court.

During Thursday’s session, the accused told the court that the complainant was not his partner but a woman with whom he had a “fling.” The visual material in the case file shows his face and includes audio of him while he allegedly assaults his victims. When the prosecutor asked that the videos be shown to him, she stated after viewing them that it was not him and that the voice did not correspond to his. The accused remained calm while the images were played, did not look away, and maintained that the complainant must have created them. He said she was the one who had to give explanations.

According to the accused, the complainant manipulated the visual material to bring about his indictment. He stated that “those facts did not happen” and described the case as a response to a threat he said he had made, that he would ruin her life if she did not stay with him. He answered all questions from the prosecutor and the private prosecutions, but his answers consisted of denials. His lawyer asked him no questions, saying she considered the matter had been covered in the public prosecutor’s extensive questioning.

Asked whether he had used his status as a priest when he went out with the victims or when they stayed overnight at his home, he denied doing so. He said he already knew some of them before he became a priest. He also declined to say whether the images depicted consensual activity or sexual assault. Although he acknowledged at one point that one image looked like him, he then said “that situation did not occur.”

One of the private prosecutions asked whether the Church took action when it learned that sexual videos might exist and of a possible relationship involving him. The accused said he met with the episcopal vicar of Melilla and the bishop, and that he denied the allegations, which he said were false, and gave them his hard drive to prove it. He also denied that he had been transferred to Málaga because of these matters. He said he returned to the mainland to reflect because the complainant insisted on a relationship, and that he needed psychological help due to “so much pressure.”

The accused, a native of Vélez-Málaga, has been in pretrial detention since his arrest on 11 September 2023. The prosecution is requesting 72 years in prison on four counts of sexual assault and crimes against privacy. These charges remain allegations until the court rules. The trial continues tomorrow with closing statements from the prosecution, the private prosecutions, and the defense.

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)