Spanish Court Acquits Employment Agency Leader in Controversial Rape Case

"It is not proven that the plaintiff did not consent to having sexual relations and it cannot be said either that such consent was obtained by the accused by taking advantage of the victim’s precarious employment situation," the judge said in his ruling. During the trial, the 54-year-old Moroccan-origin victim explained that she had agreed to live with the accused, who then asked her for sexual favors.

However, the court notes "significant inaccuracies and contradictions" in her testimony. "At times, she indicates that she did not consent to sexual intercourse, at other times she claims the opposite," the court observes. The Moroccan woman also failed to give precise dates for the alleged events, also acknowledging "having gone too far" due to her economic needs.

The prosecution had requested eight years in prison against the accused for a continuous crime of sexual abuse. Of Pakistani nationality and 58 years old, the defendant had denied, during the preliminary investigation, having had sexual relations with the victim. But at the trial, he admitted the opposite. This "striking" change in the defendant’s version did not have any impact on the court’s assessment of the victim’s testimony.