"There are things you can't control": mother of allegedly abused baby distances herself from father to get out of jail
The Prosecutor's Office has "no doubt" about the assaults and wants to keep the couple imprisoned
BarcelonaThe Prosecutor's Office has "no doubt" about the "unequivocal evidence" against the parents of the baby allegedly mistreated and raped in Barcelona. Sources from the Prosecutor's Office stated this after Tuesday's hearing at the Barcelona Court, where the defense of the child's mother distanced herself from the father's to try to get him out of prison. Both the public prosecutor and the private prosecution from the Generalitat have requested that the couple remain in provisional prison. In contrast, the lawyers defending the man and the woman separately have requested that they be allowed to await trial at liberty.
The court could rule today or in the coming days on the immediate future of the couple investigated for allegedly mistreating and sexually assaulting their baby of a few weeks. The couple, a 42-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman, have been in provisional prison since March 20. Sources from the Prosecutor's Office assure that the advances in the investigation so far do not generate "any doubt" about their accusation. On the contrary, they assure that there is "unequivocal evidence" against the couple and that so far none has appeared to support the defenses' theses. in provisional prison since March 20.
Despite legal sources consulted by ARA assuring that the father and mother have not accused each other, the woman's defense has insisted on her innocence and argued that her position as a mother did not allow her to be a guarantor at all times, and that there are "things she cannot control".
Whatever the court's decision on the couple's liberty, one of the next steps in the investigation will be to conduct a "high-quality" psychiatric examination on them.
Risk of flight or influencing witnesses
Beyond the evidence gathered by the investigation, this Tuesday a debate was to be held on whether there are grounds for provisional detention or if the couple could await trial with less restrictive precautionary measures. Among the reasons for their imprisonment was the risk of continued assaults and the possibility of them fleeing given the severity of the penalties they could face. According to legal sources, the defense has proposed all options: a bail bond, an order of protection for the child, and even GPS tracking devices.
The Prosecutor's Office argues that the severity of the penalties they face constitutes a risk in itself of them fleeing and avoiding trial. In contrast, the defense has argued that the couple has no ties outside the country nor the economic capacity to start over abroad, and furthermore, their entire social circle is in Catalonia.
Another element the Prosecutor's Office uses to justify provisional detention is the risk of evidence destruction, in the sense that they could influence the testimonies in the case. Most of them are individuals from the investigated parties' circles who could be pressured to give a version that favored the defendants, according to sources from the Prosecutor's Office. In contrast, the defense emphasizes that these testimonies do not hold much relevance in the case, as they did not witness the events but rather focus on explaining the defendants' character. In fact, they add that if all the testimonies that have already been given to the Mossos d'Esquadra suddenly changed their version, it could even "be used against" the investigated parties.
Among the evidence collected so far is also the testimony of the doctors who attended to the child and that of a woman with whom they shared a room at the Vall d'Hebron Hospital in Barcelona. This witness alerted the hospital staff that the child was not being well cared for, and ultimately, they activated the protocol against child abuse. Specifically, the woman alerted that the man was shaking the child's crib violently. In her case, the testimony can be used as pre-constituted evidence in the trial, and therefore the defense considers that there is no risk of her version being influenced.
Regarding the risk of repeated aggressions, the defense considers that there is none because the child is with a foster family. On the other hand, sources from the Prosecutor's Office justify that the "brutality and gratuitousness of the aggression" can by themselves pose a risk of repetition. "If someone kills their victim, we say there is a risk of repetition, even if the victim is no longer there," point out sources from the Prosecutor's Office.
Tests to study
Along with the appeal to try to leave prison, the baby's father also presented a medical report signed by a private practitioner that assures that the man is a carrier of a gene related to muscular dystrophy and collagen deficiency. With this, the defense raises the possibility that the baby may be a carrier of this gene and the hypothesis that it could be the cause or trigger of the detected injuries. On the other hand, the prosecution recalls that after the couple's arrest, forensic experts ruled out that the child had any illness.
On the other hand, both the mother's lawyer and the father's lawyer allege that the anal injuries detected in the baby are due to intestinal problems and not sexual assault.
Five visits to health centers
Before being arrested, the child's parents had made five visits to different health centers. In fact, the Department of Health is now studying whether to sanction the centers that treated the infant before the child abuse protocol was activated.
A mediados de abril, el infante recibió el alta después de un mes ingresado y fue con una familia de acogida de urgencia. Las familias de acogida de urgencia acogen a los infantes durante un máximo de seis meses. Después de este tiempo, según el caso, el infante puede ir con otra familia de acogida más permanente o bien con algún miembro de la familia extensa.