A 51-year-old man is facing a potential 10-year prison sentence after being accused of repeated child sexual abuse in Ibiza, according to court documents ahead of a trial scheduled to take place next Thursday at the Provincial Court of the Balearic Islands in Palma.
According to the prosecution’s indictment, the defendant allegedly abused a young girl over a period of approximately four years, beginning when she was just four years old and continuing until she reached the age of eight. The alleged offences are said to have taken place between 2009 and 2013.
Prosecutors state that the accused, a Romanian national, was living in the same apartment as the child’s family at the time and was considered a close family friend. Due to that relationship, he frequently cared for the girl while her parents were at work.
The prosecution alleges that the defendant took advantage of those periods when he was alone with the child to commit the offences. Court documents describe multiple alleged incidents of sexual abuse of a minor, including acts that prosecutors classify as aggravated due to the victim’s young age and vulnerability.
Alleged Abuse Occurred on a Near-Daily Basis
According to the prosecution, the alleged abuse was carried out almost daily over several years.
Court filings further claim that the defendant allegedly sought to gain the child’s trust through gifts, attention and by adopting what prosecutors describe as a quasi-parental role. The indictment also alleges that the child was discouraged from disclosing the alleged abuse through emotional manipulation and warnings that she would not be believed.
Prosecutors argue that these circumstances enabled the alleged abuse to continue for an extended period.
Long-Term Impact on the Alleged Victim
The prosecution maintains that the alleged offences had a serious and lasting impact on the victim’s psychological development, childhood and adolescence.
According to the indictment, the woman has experienced difficulties including loss of self-confidence, reduced trust in others, lower self-esteem, challenges in social and personal relationships, and effects on her emotional and sexual development.
Prosecutors Seek Prison Sentence and Restriction Order
The defendant was arrested in August 2020, several years after the alleged offences had ended. He later spent more than a year in pre-trial detention, from March 2021 until July 2022.
At the upcoming trial, prosecutors are seeking a 10-year prison sentence for what they classify as a continuous offence of aggravated sexual abuse of a minor. They are also requesting a restraining order preventing the defendant from approaching or contacting the alleged victim within a distance of 200 metres for ten years.
In addition, the prosecution is seeking €60,000 in compensation for the alleged victim.
The case will now be examined in court, where the defendant retains the presumption of innocence unless and until proven guilty.
