"You will remain detained all night": a police officer and her husband, who was pretending to be one, condemned for humiliation in a nightclub
BarcelonaBefore they could judge him, the man confessed that he posed as a police officer to humiliate other men and sexually assault a girl in a Barcelona nightclub. His partner at the time, a Municipal Police officer, admits that she covered for him and also participated in the humiliations. Their confessions have allowed them to reach an agreement with the Prosecutor's Office and avoid the trial that was scheduled for this Wednesday, in which he faced nine years in prison and she faced three. Finally, the sentence is two and a half years for him and two for her, according to the conformity agreement consulted by ARA. The agreement with the prosecution includes that they will not have to go to prison to serve these sentences on condition that they do not re-offend.
It happened on the night of March 15, 2023. The officer and her husband —now ex-husband— entered the City Hall nightclub, a venue on Rambla de Catalunya in Barcelona near Ronda Universitat, and upon arrival, she introduced herself to the security manager of the venue, telling him she was a police officer and to notify her if there were any problems. During the night, her husband also posed as a police officer, showing a fake "local police" badge. First, he ordered the security guard of the venue to move two young men aside to search them, and made them empty their pockets, take off their shoes and socks to be searched. Meanwhile, the woman checked the young men's documents, who had not committed any crime.
That same night, the man sexually assaulted a girl who was dancing in the nightclub, and repeated the assaults even after she had reprimanded him and moved to avoid him. When the girl's boyfriend intervened, the accused asked a guard to remove him from the venue. The employee did so, believing he was being asked by a police officer. The defendant threw the customer out by grabbing him by the neck and pushing him against a wall.
The officer helped him
When they were already on the street, the woman, a Municipal Police officer, saw how her husband was detaining a nightclub client who had not committed any offense. The woman has admitted that not only did she not intervene to help the boy who was being detained without reason, but she also helped her husband by asking the boy to identify himself.
In front of her, the fake police officer ordered the young man to empty his pockets and stand against the wall to be searched. At this point, the young man asked the accused to show him his badge and told him he would call the police. The accused, continuing the humiliation, told him: "Call them, you'll stay all night, I guarantee you'll spend the 72 hours [the maximum detention time at the police station] here," and asked the woman to show her badge.
For these acts, the man has accepted a sentence of two and a half years for the crime of usurpation of public functions, for the degrading treatment of nightclub clients, and for sexual assault. He will also compensate the girl he touched with 2,000 euros and, together with the other accused, 500 euros to the other clients they humiliated.
The woman, who is currently suspended as an officer due to disciplinary proceedings, now accepts a sentence of two years in prison for having harbored the man and for participating in the degrading treatment of clients.