The High Court of Justice of Andalusia (TSJA) has fully ratified the resolution issued by the First Section of the Provincial Court of Huelva, which imposes a sentence of four years and nine months in prison on a man as the perpetrator of a sexual abuse offense committed against a woman whom he had previously drugged.
According to the TSJA ruling, consulted by Europa Press, the Huelva Court considered it proven that on the night of August 10 to 11, 2022, while participating in an outdoor drinking gathering in the capital of Huelva, the accused "supplied the victim, by himself or through an unspecified third party, an undetermined amount of benzodiazepines, in order to nullify her will."
Thus, as detailed in the resolution, around 6:00 AM on August 11, the defendant accompanied the woman to her home and, "taking advantage of the fact that she was dizzy, weak, unable to speak, very sleepy, and tired, due to the substance supplied," and "moved by the desire to satisfy his sexual desires," followed her to her room with the purpose of having sexual relations without her consent.
At one point, "in a moment of lucidity, the victim saw the condom that the defendant had removed on one side of the bed" and, after that, "she shouted at him to leave, pushed him, several times, finally managing to get him off her, without remembering when he left, as she did not regain consciousness until the next morning."
For these acts, the Provincial Court of Huelva imposed on the accused, as responsible for a sexual abuse offense, a sentence of four years and nine months in prison, along with a restraining order prohibiting him from approaching within 200 meters of the victim for a period of six years.
In addition, the sentence establishes for the convicted person a supervised release measure of five years, which will be served once the prison sentence is completed, as well as the payment of compensation of 6,000 euros for "moral damages" caused to the woman.
Against this resolution, the defense of the convicted person filed an appeal alleging a violation of the fundamental right to the presumption of innocence and an error in the assessment of the evidence presented at trial. However, the TSJA has rejected both arguments and has confirmed in all its aspects the conviction issued by the Huelva Court.