The Tribunal Superior de Justicia de Castilla y León (TSJCyL) has upheld a man’s sentence of four years and seven months’ imprisonment for a continuing sexual assault on a minor. The decision of the Sala de lo Civil y Penal based in Burgos upholds the ruling of the Audiencia Provincial de León in full. According to court information reported by Europa Press the ruling is not yet final and may be appealed to the Tribunal Supremo by way of cassation.
The offences took place when the girl was approximately between ten and twelve years old. At the time, the man was in a relationship with the child’s mother and lived in the same household. The judges found the Audiencia’s assessment of the evidence to be sound. They said the decisive factor was the victim’s account, which was consistent in its essential points and supported by statements from within the family and forensic reports. The chamber rejected the defence’s challenges to her credibility.
As well as the prison sentence, the court imposed restraining and no-contact orders. For four years and seven months, the convicted man is prohibited from approaching or contacting the victim. He was also sentenced to two years’ supervised release. In civil damages, he must pay the victim €5,000. The court found the legal conditions for a continuing offence had been met and adopted the sentencing considerations set out by the Audiencia.
With the TSJCyL’s confirmation, the sentence handed down by the Audiencia Provincial de León remains essentially unchanged. The only further avenue of appeal is cassation before the second chamber of the Tribunal Supremo, which reviews questions of law and procedural complaints. The conviction is not final until the highest court has ruled.
The case joins a series of TSJCyL decisions reviewing provincial court judgments in sexual offences against minors. The additional measures upheld here—keeping a protective distance, a no-contact order, subsequent supervision and compensation—reflect the combination of criminal and civil measures commonly used in comparable cases to protect victims after their prison sentence has been served.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).