The Provincial Court of Palma has acquitted a young man accused of raping a girl with intellectual disabilities in Son Servera in 2020, considering the evidence insufficient. The prosecution had requested nine years in prison.
The First Section of the Provincial Court of Palma has issued an acquittal for a 23-year-old man who stood trial accused of sexually assaulting a young woman with intellectual disabilities in the municipality of Son Servera. The court, after analysing the evidence presented during the trial held in mid-month, concluded that there is not enough evidence to overturn the presumption of innocence of the accused.
The Public Prosecutor's Office had requested a nine-year prison sentence for the accused for a sexual assault charge. According to the accusation, the events occurred in 2020 when the man allegedly forced the victim, who has a recognised intellectual disability, to engage in sexual acts under threats with a knife. However, the defence, represented by lawyer Martina Bauzá, requested full acquittal upon detecting "contradictions" in the complainant's account and the absence of incriminating biological evidence.
The judicial resolution focuses on how the victim's testimony was gathered. Given her disability, a pre-recorded testimony was taken, directed by a psychologist, to avoid re-victimisation. However, the court emphasises that this statement "was not a free and spontaneous account," but rather responded to specific questions posed by the professional. The psychologist herself noted during the hearing that individuals with this cognitive profile tend to communicate "what they understand the other person wants to hear," which undermines the reliability of the testimony.
In addition to doubts about the spontaneity of the account, the Court notes "differences" in the description of the alleged threats with the weapon by the complainant. No biological traces of the accused were found on the young woman's clothing, another element that, according to the judges, weakens the prosecution's hypothesis. The court concludes that the totality of the evidence does not meet the threshold required to render a guilty verdict beyond a reasonable doubt.
The ruling is not final and can be appealed to the High Court of Justice of the Balearic Islands. Legal sources have indicated that the prosecution is considering whether to file an appeal, although it has not officially commented on the matter yet.
The case has generated intense debate about the validity of pre-recorded evidence in sexual crimes involving vulnerable victims. The decision of the Palma Court reminds us that, even in particularly serious crimes, the principle of presumption of innocence remains a fundamental pillar of the criminal process. For the residents of Son Servera and the rest of Mallorca, this resolution underscores the complexity of judging events that occurred in private and the need to ensure both the protection of victims and the rights of the accused.
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