Gypsy, 20, who raped 12-year-old girl is acquitted by Spanish court because their ‘relationship’ is ‘part of the cultural reality of their community’
- A man in Spain is acquitted of raping a 12-year-old girl
- The court ruled that their sexual relations were just part of Gypsy culture
- This comes after another man guilty of raping a minor had his sentence reduced
A Spanish court has acquitted a man who raped a 12-year-old girl after ruling that their relationships were just part of Roma culture.
On Tuesday, the court in Ciudad Real in central Spain took into account the socio-cultural context of the Gypsy ethnic group to reduce the sentence for sexual assault and abuse of a minor by a 20-year-old man.
This resulted in the perpetrator, who left his 12-year-old victim pregnant with twins, being acquitted.
The ruling found that the relationship was “always consensual within the framework of a romantic relationship,” adding that the two were “close in age and maturity.”
The girl was found to be pregnant for the first time after an examination by a doctor, who alerted authorities, leading to the man’s arrest.
Prosecutors had demanded eleven years in prison, but the court ruled in acquittal.
On Tuesday, the court in Ciudad Real in central Spain took into account the socio-cultural context of the Gypsy ethnic group to reduce the sentence for sexual assault and abuse of a minor by a 20-year-old man.
The age of consent in Spain is 16, meaning anyone younger cannot consent to sex. However, the court ruled that the man had to take advantage of the legal exception.
The acquittal is the latest in a series of rulings in which judges take into account the practices followed by part of Spain’s Roma population when dealing with cases of sexual assault against minors.
On Monday, just a day before the Ciudad Real ruling, the Provincial Court of León reduced the sentence for a gypsy man found guilty of sexually abusing a minor. RTVE reported.
Although the unnamed man got her pregnant three times when she was between the ages of twelve and fifteen, the court concluded that in “Gypsy culture, mating occurs at a very young age,” a circumstance that served as a mitigating factor.
He was sentenced to just 11 years.
The court in Leon was told by the victim, who is also Romani, that it was normal for a 12-year-old to have sexual relations with an adult in her culture.
Prosecutors, who originally sought a 37-year prison sentence for the man on three rape charges, agreed to a plea deal for a reduced sentence.
Sara Gimenez (pictured), general director of the Gypsy Secretariat Foundation in Spain, said the recent statements promoted a “negative image” of the Roma population.
Beatriz Carrillo, the director general of non-discrimination and anti-racism within Spain’s Ministry of Equality, called the court “shameful” of X in Leon’s ruling.
‘Even more [the ruling] alludes to an alleged non-existent custom to mitigate punishment. The Criminal Code does not exclude the protection and protection of underage Gypsy children, otherwise it would argue that abusing, attacking or raping Gypsy girls has few legal consequences,” she wrote on the social platform.
Sara Gimenez, general director of the Gypsy Secretariat Foundation in Spain, said on Wednesday that the recent statements promote a “negative image” of the Roma that “does not correspond to the reality of today’s Gypsies.”
According to the Gypsy Secretariat Foundation, approximately 750,000 Roma live in Spain.