The manager of the tourist office of Espluga de Francolí (Conca de Barberà) faces 18 years in prison. The Tarragona Prosecutor’s Office accuses him of an alleged continued crime of sexual assault and of abusing “the special situation of vulnerability” of the victim, a blind person. He also asks for eight years of probation and 50,000 euros in civil liability compensation.
According to the accusation, the touching and sexual assaults began in December 2015 and lasted until June 2016. The worker reported the events a month later. The Public Prosecutor reports that the victim was left in “shock” and unable to move when she suffered the abuse and that the person under investigation “took advantage” of this situation,
According to the brief of provisional conclusions of the public ministry that the ACN has had access to, the victim began to suffer pressure from the defendant between October and November 2015. The story indicates that the man reproached him for not doing the job well in the office of tourism and that he “controlled it too much”. Between December of the same year and January 2016, he explains that the situation worsened, since the defendant took advantage of the moments they were alone to touch him. “The defendant placed the victim towards the counter and touched her most intimate parts under her clothes, leaving her unable to move,” the letter indicates.
The touching was repeated repeatedly until the end of January when the violations began. These attacks occurred between one and three times a week and lasted until June 23, 2016, when the person investigated went on vacation. “The defendant always used his force to hold her down and forced her to have sexual relations, slapping her and placing her against the wall, chairs or tables in the office; he took advantage of his work superiority and the visual disability of the victim -100 blindness %- to always maintain relationships without their consent,” stresses the prosecutor.
The woman reported the events to the Mossos d’Esquadra on July 17 of the same year, after telling her psychologist, coach and father. As a result of the attacks, the victim has suffered panic attacks and anguish, which have required psychological treatment. For all these reasons, the prosecutor considers that the facts constitute a continuous crime of sexual assault, with carnal access, abusing the defendant of “the special situation of vulnerability of the victim.”
For this reason, he requests eighteen years in prison for the manager, eight years of probation once the sentence is executed, and disqualification for any work, trade, or activity related to minors. It also requests a ban on approaching the victim closer than 500 meters for a period of 26 years. As for civil liability, he requests compensation of 50,000 euros for moral damages both to the defendant and to the City Council of l’Espluga, to which he attributes the subsidiary civil liability – because the tourist office depended on the consistory. The trial is pending to be indicated in the Audiencia de Tarragona.
The plenary session of the Espluga de Francolí City Council approved at the end of last December to start the procedures to dissolve the Organization for the Management of Museum Facilities and Activities (INACMU) with the votes in favor of the government team. With this action, the municipal government also foresees the amortization of its management, which is occupied by the man accused of sexual assault. Likewise, the consistory opened a disciplinary file against the employee, as a “precautionary” measure, which was archived. However, the manager was removed from his position for six months. The mayor of the municipality, Josep Maria Vidal, explained that in this way they want to “restructure” the tourism area.
The worker denounced the mayor of Espluga de Francolí after being temporarily removed from his duties. In fact, the number two court of Valls admitted the complaint against the mayor for an alleged crime of prevarication, disclosure of secrets by a public official and slander. In the judicial notification, the judge considered that this fact “presents indications of a crime” and therefore decided to initiate preliminary proceedings.
For that same disciplinary file, the tourism manager filed a complaint in the Administrative Court number two of Tarragona. The complaint was also admitted and the hearing is expected to be held on April 25.
