Las Palmas Court Rules Child Abduction Case Falls Under Domestic Violence Jurisdiction

A court in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which deals with violence against women, has decided it has the authority to investigate a case of alleged child abduction. The man involved is reportedly separated from his wife and is accused of taking their young daughter from the Canary Islands to mainland Spain.

He is said to have kept the child in Malaga for five months, ignoring a court order regarding custody and visitation. The court believes this action may have been intended to harm his ex-partner, a form of violence known as "vicarious violence," where harm is inflicted through a third party.

The court officially accepted jurisdiction over the case, which was initially sent to a standard criminal court. The man has been ordered to stay away from and have no contact with his daughter, who was eight years old at the time of the alleged abduction, for the duration of the investigation.

In addition to the alleged abduction, which falls under Article 225 bis of the Penal Code, the man is also being investigated for habitual mistreatment, as outlined in Article 173.2, with the possibility of these charges being reclassified later.

Although child abduction is not typically handled by these specialized courts, the Public Prosecutor's Office supported the decision for this court to take on the case.

The judge cited a legal opinion from the State Attorney General's Office, which states that child abduction cases fall under the jurisdiction of violence against women courts when they occur alongside acts of gender-based violence.

The judge explained that since both habitual mistreatment and child abduction are present in this case, the court's jurisdiction is clear. She further elaborated that child abduction can be considered violence against women when it is used as a tool to hurt the mother. The instrumentalization of children in such a way clearly falls under the purview of these specialized courts.

According to the court's order, on April 20, the man took his daughter from her home in Las Palmas without the mother's consent or a court order granting him sole custody. He kept her in Malaga with himself and his new partner for five months. The child was returned to her mother on October 10, 2025, by court order.

The order also mentions a series of alleged "vexations and coercion" by the man against his ex-partner. These included falsely accusing her of injuring their daughter, which had actually happened during a sports accident at school. The court concluded that the actions constitute habitual mistreatment and child abduction. While the vexations and coercion are considered part of the habitual mistreatment, the child abduction is a separate offense, representing a "real concurrence of crimes" as it involves different legal interests.

This court order can be appealed.