José Campos was a student at the Tecla Sala school in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat when he suffered sexual abuse by one of his teachers. Campos explains that he was not yet 10 years old when he was attacked by “Professor Gómez.” In his testimony, he tells that in drawing class he sexually abused him and other classmates.
The man admits having suffered groping from the teacher on his genitals while he was reviewing his homework while sitting at a table, according to his account in El Periódico 58 years after the events occurred. Campos describes that the teacher even went so far as to break the seam of the pants to be able to reach the genitals. However, the complainant explains, there was total impunity for the aggressor.
Despite the time in which Campos suffered these abuses -in the midst of the Franco regime-, he assures that he did not keep quiet and that he told his parents about the situation. His mother’s response was to tell him to go to the nearest church to confess. In addition, his parents filed a formal complaint at the school. Her mother was tired of sewing her pant leg, although at first she thought it was because she would tear it during recess.
The center’s decision was to transfer Professor Gómez to another school. However, the parents of José Campos changed their son from his center and enrolled him in the Jesuits in Sarrià, Sant Ignasi, where he continued his studies and where he did not suffer any more sexual assault.
Campos says he does not remember the name or second surname of “Professor Gómez.” The school, which currently no longer belongs to the same religious organization, assures the same outlet that it has tried unsuccessfully to find more information about the teacher. The order of the ‘Missionaries of the Holy Heart’ handed over the administration of the Tecla Sala school to the ‘Fundació per a les Escoles Parroquials’ in 1992.
Taking into account that the events occurred in 1965, it is likely that the professor is already over 90 years old or that he has even died. However, José Campos believes that “the time has come” to take the step because he acknowledges that what the teacher did with the students “was wild.”
Campos has decided to file a complaint against Professor Gómez at the Mossos d’Esquadra police station, even though he is aware that the facts have prescribed and that the police will not investigate because the judge will close the case.
