The trial involving Real Madrid defender Raúl Asencio and three former youth team players opened at Section Penal Number 5 of the Tribunal of Instance of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, presided over by Magistrate Virginia Peña Hernández, with prosecutors confirming that charges against Asencio will be dropped if the victims ratify their forgiveness in court.
The Legal Framework of the Trial
According to court reporting from Canarias7, the proceedings began on a Thursday and are scheduled to continue through subsequent dates. The case centers on an incident on June 15, 2023, at a beach club in Amadores within the municipality of Mogán. Prosecutors state that two of the accused engaged in consensual sexual encounters with a victim who was a minor at the time, while a third defendant had a consensual encounter with a second victim. During these meetings, two of the accused allegedly filmed and photographed the relationships without consent, subsequently distributing the material via messaging apps. Andrés García acknowledged participating in the recording during the investigative phase, while Asencio allegedly requested and received the video afterward, showing it to an acquaintance despite knowing it was obtained without consent.
Charges and the Offended Party’s Forgiveness
Asencio faces a provisional accusation encompassing two counts of disclosure of secrets, for which the Public Ministry requests a sentence of two years, six months, and one day in prison alongside a fine. His former teammates—Ferrán Ruiz, Juan Rodríguez, and Andrés García—face identical charges concerning privacy violations, plus an additional count of distributing child pornography under Article 189 of the Penal Code regarding the underage victim. For these three defendants, prosecutors seek four years and seven months of imprisonment each, a six-year restraining order keeping them at least 500 meters away from the victims, and a specified financial compensation per complainant.
However, the trial is shaped by the legal mechanism known as “el perdón del ofendido,” or the forgiveness of the offended party. Prosecutor Mercedes Gil Castillo indicated a willingness to accept this mechanism as a cause for extinguishing criminal responsibility for the privacy offenses, provided the forgiveness is expressed freely, spontaneously, and unconditionally during the oral hearing rather than through a notarized act. If the forgiveness is accepted by the court, Asencio will not be convicted on the secondary participation charges, limiting civil liability claims against him to an amount per victim. Prosecutors emphasize that this forgiveness does not extend to the public crime of distributing child pornography charged against the other three defendants, meaning their prosecution continues regardless of the victims’ stance on the privacy charges.
Next Steps in the Proceedings
All defendants requested permission to appear via videoconference as the trial commenced following the dismissal of prior nullity motions by Magistrate Virginia Peña Hernández at the end of July. The evidentiary hearings and testimonies will determine the final application of the legal forgiveness mechanism and the subsequent rulings for the remaining charges.
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