The Prosecutor’s Office of the National Court also sees signs of sexual assault in the kiss that the suspended president of the Royal Spanish Football Federation, Luis Rubiales, planted in the mouth of the national team player Jennifer Hermoso after the victory in Australia. He considers that in view of the statements made by the player, the kiss was not consented to, and for this reason he opens investigation proceedings, in addition to offering shares to Hermoso, giving him the possibility that in 15 days he can formalize a complaint.
The decision is made after studying the six complaints filed by director of the Training Center for Coaches (CENAFE), Miguel Ángel Galán, and five individuals. Last Friday, the Madrid Prosecutor’s Office sent the first of them to the National Court in a letter in which it stated that it saw a possible crime in the conduct of the suspended executive, although it referred the matter to this body as it is competent to, in his case, open some investigative proceedings.
Hermoso has not taken any steps in the sense of denouncing the president of his federation in court, although he has requested “exemplary measures” against Rubiales by sports bodies through a joint statement with the majority Spanish soccer union, FUTPRO.
However, after the manager appeared before the Federation Assembly, where he gave a version of the facts in which he spoke that the kiss had been accepted by the player, Hermoso sent a forceful statement to the media in which he affirmed that “at no time” consented. He added that she felt “vulnerable and the victim of aggression, an impulsive, macho, out of place act and without any kind of consent” on her part.
Unequivocal statements of the player
In view of these public statements, the Prosecutor’s Office now understands that “the sexual act suffered” by the young woman “was not consented”and adds that “given the extra-procedural moment in which we find ourselves and the unequivocal nature of their statements, it is necessary to determine their legal significance.”
Thus, proceedings are opened for an alleged crime because what happened could fit within the Penal Code, specifically in article 178 of the norm, which provides for a prison sentence of one to four years, as responsible for sexual assault who performs any act that violates the sexual freedom of another person without their consent. The statute of limitations for the offense is five years.
The opening of an ex officio investigation was the reason for study because the type of crime that could have been committed by Rubiales is of a semi-public nature and requires, in principle, a complaint from the aggrieved person. Although the law allows the Prosecutor’s Office to act ex officio “weighing the legitimate interests” of the specific case, the reality is that prosecutors only usually take action directly when the victims are minors or people with disabilities. Regarding jurisdiction, it corresponds to the National Court because it is a possible crime committed abroad by a Spaniard and the victim is Spanish.
Complaint for exhibitionism before the infanta
One of the complaints that the Prosecutor’s Office is now studying refers to “the existence of obscene exhibitionism before a minor”, referring to the moment in which Rubiales touched his crotch in the presence of the Infanta Sofía at the end of the meeting, although the Public Ministry does not refer to these events in the decree signed by the acting lieutenant prosecutor Marta Durántez, who will be the in charge of investigations. The documentation was sent from the Technical General Secretariat of the State Attorney General’s Office, which accompanied the six complaints presented with an internal note.
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The decree specifies the facts of the complaint, consisting of “give a kiss on the mouth, while holding the player’s head with both hands”which are those that he understands could constitute a crime of sexual assault.
The investigations are pre-trial, which means that they are still pending before a judge, and they are opened after obtaining evidence that no court has opened any proceedings for what happened. Among the procedures to be carried out, the decree of the Prosecutor’s Office includes the investigation of the address of Hermoso in order to make the offer of shares, providing him “in a simple and understandable way” the ways to make a complaint as “victim of an alleged crime of sexual assault”.