The Superior Court of Justice of Navarra (TSJN) has confirmed an 11-year prison sentence for a 45-year-old man who repeatedly sexually forced his niece from when she was seven years old until she was nine. The sentence, imposed in November 2023 by the Court of Navarra and now endorsed by this court, condemns the man for a continued crime of sexual assault with carnal access to a minor under 16 years of age. He will not be able to approach or communicate with the victim for 13 years, whom he must compensate with 25,000 euros for the moral damage caused. In addition, once he is released from prison, he must serve a measure of supervised release for eight years.
When the youngest was three years old, her mother died and her father abandoned her care. She was residing with her grandfather in a home in Pamplona, but, given the deficiencies detected in her care, the Subdirectorate of Family and Minors of the Government of Navarra determined that the minor resided with a foster family. Thus, between September 2016 and February 2019, the girl lived with two different foster families, although on weekends she went to visit her grandfather. Her uncle, the convicted man, was the one who picked her up and took her back. Her ruling considers it proven that her defendant abused her when she was still residing with her grandfather and that he also sexually assaulted her when she had already entered the foster care system. According to the text of the sentence, "the defendant, after carrying out the indicated actions, warned the girl that he should not say anything, since her grandfather could have a heart attack and die." The facts came to light in May 2018, when the victim, about to turn nine, told her foster family about the abuse suffered by her.
Both the Court and the TSJN have emphasized in their rulings the “conviction” of the minor's story, corroborated with objective evidence and with the psychological expert report, which points out that, as a consequence of the abuse, “various indices were detected in the minor.” of emotional discomfort such as intrusive thoughts and images that generate intense discomfort, feelings of sadness, a state of nervousness, avoidant behaviors and attitudes, sleeping problems and nightmares, and a feeling of internal rage.”
The initial sentence was appealed by the defense, which requested acquittal. However, the court has emphasized that it is not reasonable to require the victim to provide a detailed and detailed account of the situation that she reveals. Nor can it be required that he knew from the beginning that what he was suffering was sexual abuse.
Both due to his young age and his family situation, the Court highlights: "Not being able to tell what happened or talk about it with someone you trust to clarify your confusion, is necessarily a determining aspect when evaluating this aspect." In this sense, the court concludes that “the initial statement made by the victim upon discovering the abusive situation for the first time cannot be taken as a parameter of validation of the persistence in the story.”
“It would be a different matter if that first revelation provided data that was openly contradictory to subsequent presentations, which has not happened at all. On the contrary, abstraction made from concrete details, there is a perfect correlation between the initial statements and the subsequent contributions,” the ruling adds.