The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Aragón on 15 September 2026 upheld the judgment of the Audiencia Provincial de Zaragoza : the person in charge of a club in the Zaragoza district of Garrapinillos must serve a total of six years and four months in prison for human trafficking in conjunction with forced prostitution, as well as facilitating illegal entry. The Civil and Criminal Chamber of the High Court dismissed the convicted woman’s appeal and upheld the findings and sentencing made at first instance.
According to the court’s findings, the defendant had, in 2021 and 2022 made contact with a woman in Paraguay and paid for her flight to Spain, promising her work as a waitress. After arriving in Zaragoza the woman was confronted with a demand to provide sexual services to pay off an alleged debt for travel and accommodation. The Audiencia Provincial de Zaragoza found that the offences of human trafficking and exploitation for prostitution had been proved, and imposed prison terms of six years for the two main offences, plus a further four months for facilitating illegal entry.
The High Court also upheld the order for subsequent libertad vigilada and the award of compensation of 6,000 euros to the victim. The judges rejected the defence’s argument that this had been a regular work arrangement; decisive factors were the deception in recruitment, the exploitation of the woman’s economic hardship and the coercive situation imposed after her entry into Spain.
The case joins a series of investigations and proceedings in Zaragoza in which a recurring pattern has been documented: recruitment in the country of origin with deceptive promises, financing of the journey, the creation of alleged debts, and control and coercion after arrival. In their judgments, the courts regularly emphasise the particular seriousness of exploiting the victims’ vulnerability and impose accompanying measures such as libertad vigilada and financial compensation in addition to prison sentences.
The current decision was issued within Aragón’s jurisdiction; the available summaries make no mention of any further appeals. The acts established in these proceedings date from 2021 and 2022 and therefore concern a concluded set of facts, whose criminal assessment has now been upheld with final effect.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).