A man who raped a 12-year-old girl was acquitted by a court that deemed their relations formed “part of the cultural reality of the gipsy community”.
Under Spanish law, minors under the age of 16 cannot consent to sex. But the court ruled that the man, who was 20 years old at the time, should benefit from a legal exception
According to the ruling, the defendant said he did not know the exact age of the minor and discovered that she was 12 only when they went to the doctor about her pregnancy.
The man, who has not been named, was sentenced to 11 years in prison after a sexual relationship with a Roma girl saw her become pregnant three times between the ages of 12 and 15.
The court in León was told by the victim that in her culture it was normal for a 12-year-old girl to have sexual relations with an adult. Prosecutors, who had initially pursued a 37-year sentence on three counts of rape, eventually agreed on a plea bargain deal with the reduced sentence, with the conviction ruling stating that “couples start at very early ages in gipsy culture”.
Beatriz Carrillo, director general of non-discrimination and anti-racism within Spain’s Equalities Ministry, described the ruling in León as an “absolute disgrace”.
“The penal code does not exclude Roma minors from protection. If it did so, we would be saying that abusing, attacking or raping gipsy girls has few legal consequences.”
Sara Giménez, FSG director general, said: “Spain’s legal framework says under-16s cannot give consent and this law should be applied for the protection of women, including gipsy women.
From a much longer article in the Telegraph but reprinted by yahoo at Man who raped gipsy girl, 12, acquitted because relationship ‘common’ (yahoo.com)