Business Owner Sentenced for Sexual Assault
A business owner located in San Isidro, within the Granadilla de Abona municipality in Tenerife, has been sentenced by the Provincial Court to three years and two months in prison, along with a payment of €43,600 for three counts of sexual assault committed against three employees. Two of these assaults were classified as ongoing.
### Details of the Sentencing
For the offences against the first two victims, the court imposed a sentence of one year and three months of imprisonment for each, while the third assault resulted in a sentence of six months. Additionally, the convicted individual was ordered to pay €25,000, €18,650, and €6,200 respectively in civil responsibility claims.
### Proven Facts
According to established facts, the defendant admitted to taking advantage of one victim’s fear of losing her job from late 2022 until November 2023. He subjected her to repeated inappropriate touching within the establishment, which ultimately led her to request a leave of absence due to anxiety. He subsequently engaged in similar behaviour towards another employee, who also experienced panic attacks, and later, he acted in the same manner with a third employee, who began to avoid him and was dismissed shortly thereafter.
### Legal Action
The first two victims reported the incidents to the Civil Guard on 30 November 2023. The prosecution initially sought €40,000 in compensation for the victims (€20,000 for the first, €15,000 for the second, and €5,000 for the third) and requested that the defendant receive the same prison sentences that were ultimately confirmed. Prior to the trial, the accused deposited €50,000 into the court.
### Oral Hearing
During the oral hearing, the businessman acknowledged his criminal responsibility. The court recognised mitigating circumstances due to undue delays in the proceedings and imposed a ban on him approaching the complainants within 500 metres and communicating with them for three and a half years, which increases to five and a half years in the case of the third victim.
### Suspension of Sentence
The ruling also stipulates that the convicted individual will not serve time in prison if he refrains from offending again over the next four years and fully settles the civil obligations, which are less than the amount already deposited in court.
