Two ongoing cases against lawyer Miguel Cabrera Pérez-Camacho, president of the Casino de Tenerife and former deputy of the Popular Party (PP), have now been closed following allegations of sexual aggression.
The Court of Instruction number 4 of La Laguna issued a ruling on Monday, March 24, declaring one of the cases closed. This particular case examined accusations against the lawyer related to an alleged act of sexual aggression towards a young man who had interviewed him in his office for an internship opportunity.
The complainant reported that prior to saying farewell and “under the pretext of teaching him how to give a massage,” Pérez-Camacho started to make uninvited contact over his waist, chest, and head area, “with lewd intent,” and suggested meeting again later that day.
In December 2022, the complainant had sent an email to the president of the Casino de Tenerife requesting an internship in the company. In this email, he mentioned that he was studying for a Higher Cycle in Administration and Finance at the Instituto de Educación Secundaria (IES) La Laguna.
The WhatsApp messages exchanged between this student and his girlfriend on the day of the incident are also part of the evidence. Following the interview, the complainant informed his girlfriend that he had finished and that it had gone poorly, but claimed that he would explain later.
According to the official document to which this newspaper has obtained access, during his testimony at the court, the complainant stated that when he expressed to Cabrera Pérez-Camacho his desire to stop receiving the massage, the lawyer halted the activity, and the student left “voluntarily and without objection” from the premises.
For these reasons, the judge concluded that the alleged incidents “have not been corroborated by the student’s own account, as it remains unclear from the student’s testimony that the actions of the accused constituted attacks against his sexual autonomy without consent, thus they do not warrant the classification of sexual aggression.”
The ruling can be appealed within twenty days.
The Initial Closure
The order from Court of Instruction number 4 of La Laguna complements a previous ruling issued on February 28 by the Provincial Court. Specifically, the second section of the court accepted the appeal submitted by the lawyer against the decision to progress the earlier proceedings to an abbreviated procedure, which is the step prior to a trial.
This case involved events allegedly taking place at his home in the municipality of Tacoronte on 17 October. The complainant, a student enrolled in a law master’s programme (Pérez-Camacho also taught at the University of La Laguna), had gone to this location to sign a practical agreement with the Pérez-Camacho firm and reported the incident to the Civil Guard hours later.
According to the complainant, this meeting also included a massage and a solicitation of sexual favours.
In a statement before the courts, the former PP deputy branded the accusation as “false” and attributed it to the “spirit of revenge” of a lawyer from whom he had parted ways.
The Court of Instruction observed sufficient evidence to bring Pérez-Camacho to trial. However, the Santa Cruz de Tenerife court has since overturned that decision, concluding that there are no grounds to suggest the commission of a crime of sexual aggression.
According to the Provincial Court, “the complainant’s account, not that of the accused,” implies “an intention to solicit sexual favours.” Nevertheless, even accepting this as the case, such a request “occurred at a specific moment, lacking any recurrence,” without illustrating “the objectively serious and intimidating hostile situation.”
The complainant, “when faced with the potential sexual request, expressed his refusal and departed, having faced no resistance whatsoever” from Miguel Cabrera Pérez-Camacho.
Letter to the Casino members
Following these two decisions, Pérez-Camacho has sent a letter to the members of the Casino de Tenerife. “From the outset, I maintained that these accusations were false. Throughout my life, I have neither committed sexual assault nor faced dismissal.”
In that correspondence, the lawyer also criticises the university rector for having suspended him “without upholding the presumption of innocence.”
