The Provincial Court of Ourense has decided to acquit the man accused of sexually assaulting his neighbor with an intellectual disability, understanding that conclusive evidence to allow for a conviction has not been proven.
In the ruling, the magistrates of the second section point out that, during the oral hearing, they observed various contradictions in the account offered by the victim. As a result of these inconsistencies, the court considers that reasonable doubts persist about what happened and opts for the acquittal of the accused.
The trial was held at the end of May. During the session, a friend of the young man with a disability testified, stating that she was the one who alerted the family after the victim -- with a recognized disability of 65% -- recounted the events to her and showed her "obscene" WhatsApp messages exchanged between them.
The Public Prosecutor's Office had requested a sentence of nine years in prison for the accused and the payment of compensation of 6,000 euros, maintaining that there were "sufficient evidentiary elements" to conclude that the man abused the victim, being "aware" of the disability she presented.
The defense, on the other hand, requested the full acquittal of their client, considering that the account lacked "scientific backing" and emphasizing that no "biological evidence" of the accused was found on the complainant's body.
The forensic doctor who authored the report on the biological tests carried out after the alleged sexual assault also appeared at the trial. The expert confirmed that the young man presented two anal fissures "compatible" with penetration, although she specified that they could also be due to other causes, such as hemorrhoids, chronic constipation, or episodes of diarrhea.