They ask for 19 years of prison for a former leader of a human tower group for abusing a minor

BarcelonaThe Public Prosecutor's Office is requesting 19 years in prison for a former group leader of the Xiquets del Serrallo accused of sexually abusing a minor who was a member of the organization. According to the public prosecutor, the man—who was the group leader in 2017—took advantage of the "close" friendship he had with her parents. This led them to allow him to be alone with the minor, with whom he began an "affectionate" relationship in 2019 that the victim described as "like a couple." At that time, the minor was 14 years old and he was 36.

"Taking advantage of the meetings at the group, the suspect, with the intent to satisfy his sexual desire, began to kiss her and speak with her through social media, asking her to send him photographs of herself naked," the public prosecution explains in its written statement. The victim agreed. Likewise, the prosecutor adds that the accused maintained sexual relations while being aware of the "significance" of his actions and that she was a minor. The sexual relations continued until the summer of 2022, both at the accused's home and in his car.

Trial behind closed doors

In the trial, which began this Tuesday at the Tarragona Court and is being held behind closed doors, the Public Prosecutor's Office accuses him of a continuous crime of sexual abuse of a minor under 16 years of age with penetration and a crime of obtaining pornographic material of a minor under 16 years of age. For all of this, it requests 19 years in prison for him. At the same time, it also requests disqualification from exercising any profession or activity related to minors for 18 years. Finally, the public prosecutor's office demands compensation of 50,000 euros for civil liability for moral damages to the minor's legal representative.