The First Section of the Provincial Court of Valencia has sentenced a 29-year-old man to 1 year and 9 months in prison for mistreating, threatening, and illegally detaining his partner, a minor who lived in a youth center.
The sentence, made public by the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community (TSJCV), was reached after the defendant’s agreement and includes the aggravating factor of recidivism — since the man had been convicted several times for similar crimes — and the mitigating factor of drug addiction.
The victim, residing in a youth center, met her partner online in September 2022, and started a relationship with the convicted man, who knew she was 15 years old.
In October 2022, taking advantage of the minor having permission to spend the weekend at her father’s home, the defendant convinced her to go to his house in Manises (Valencia) that weekend.
The day after her arrival, the defendant took the minor’s phone, leaving her isolated, controlling all her movements, forcing her to do all the housework, and addressing her in a degrading manner.
The behavior towards the victim, according to the sentence, “gradually became more aggressive, moving from verbal expressions to physical aggression by hitting her in the face, punching her ribs, and pushing her, with the purpose of undermining her physical integrity.”
When the minor expressed her wish to leave, the defendant locked her up with a key, threatening to look for her and kill her if he found her, “with the purpose of generating in the victim a situation of fear and insecurity so great that she was incapable of making any decision to end her situation.”
The minor was able to escape a week later after the aggressor’s carelessness. She is currently diagnosed with an anxious-depressive syndrome, for which she is undergoing psychological and pharmacological treatment.
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