SMK Lawyers recently acted for the defence in criminal proceedings before Section 22 of the Barcelona Provincial Court (Audiencia Provincial de Barcelona), in which our client was charged with three counts of sexual assault of minors.
The Public Prosecutor and the private prosecutors were seeking a total sentence of 26 years in prison. Following the trial, the Provincial Court delivered a judgment acquitting our client of all three offences charged.
The case shows how important a rigorous analysis of the evidence, the right to a defence and respect for procedural safeguards are in particularly complex and serious criminal cases.
The facts: a complaint about events from ten years earlier
The charges related to events that allegedly took place around ten years before the trial and concerned two sisters who were minors at the time.
Given the seriousness of the allegations, the Public Prosecutor brought charges for three counts of sexual assault of minors under the age of sixteen and sought a total sentence of 26 years in prison, in addition to the other criminal consequences associated with this type of offence.
The complainants’ testimony as incriminating evidence
The defence, led by criminal lawyer Sergi Mercé Klein, focused on analysing the evidence presented and determining whether it met the requirements needed to rebut the defendant’s presumption of innocence.
During the trial, several contradictions emerged between the statements of the two complainants, as well as discrepancies with the statements of their parents, who appeared as witnesses.
These differences concerned relevant aspects of the facts charged and were examined during the proceedings when assessing the consistency, persistence and sufficiency of the accounts as incriminating evidence.
Why testifying during the pre-trial investigation matters: the adversarial principle
Another key point raised by the defence was that one of the complainants had not given a statement before the court during the pre-trial investigation phase. The defence considered this particularly significant from the standpoint of the right to a defence and the adversarial principle.
Acquittal by the Barcelona Provincial Court
Following the trial, Section 22 of the Barcelona Provincial Court delivered a judgment acquitting the client of all three offences with which he had been charged.
In assessing the evidence, the court gave weight to the fact that one of the complainants had not testified before the court during the pre-trial investigation, an issue the defence had raised throughout the proceedings.
This circumstance, together with the contradictions found between the various statements, led the court to conclude that there was insufficient incriminating evidence to rebut the defendant’s presumption of innocence.
The judgment shows the importance of assessing the available evidence individually and rigorously in any criminal proceedings, especially in cases with major personal and legal consequences, and of guaranteeing the full exercise of the right to a defence at every stage of the process.
Experience in sexual offence proceedings
Proceedings involving offences against sexual freedom are among the most sensitive and complex matters in criminal law, both because of the seriousness of the conduct under investigation and because of the consequences they can have for everyone involved.
Having a criminal lawyer with experience in this type of proceedings makes it possible to approach the evidence, the procedural issues and the defence strategy rigorously from the earliest stages of the case.
At SMK Lawyers we have a well-established track record in criminal law and experience in sexual offence proceedings and other highly complex matters before the courts, such as the acquittal of a client accused of sexual assault by a work colleague, also before the Barcelona Provincial Court.
If you are under investigation or have been charged with a sexual offence, contact our firm: 24-hour assistance and complete confidentiality.
