Moroccan Man on Trial for Alleged Sexual Assault in Albacete, Faces 18-Year Sentence

The case will be tried on Tuesday, April 6 by the provincial court of Albacete. The 30-year-old defendant at the time of the events (June 24, 2018) had approached the victim in a bar-café to "make advances" on her, which she did not accept. She then left the bar in the company of an unidentified individual, around sixty years old. The defendant followed them, before assaulting the latter. An acquaintance of the woman, who happened to be passing by, had to intervene to separate them. The defendant then waited for the woman to be alone to "firmly grasp her arm and force her to walk through different streets, hitting her in the ribs with his elbow and threatening to hit her with a stone if she cried for help".

Further on, towards the city center, the defendant tried to sexually assault her. After his crime, he abandoned his victim who contacted her partner by phone to come pick her up and take her to the police station to file a complaint.

In an order dated July 24, 2019, the court, on a precautionary basis, confiscated the defendant’s passport and prohibited him from leaving the national territory, from approaching the woman, her home, her workplace or any other place where she is within a distance of no more than 500 meters, and from communicating with her by any means or procedure for a period of 10 years. The prosecution is also requesting that the defendant compensate the victim in the amount of 3,000 euros for each of the crimes.