Ex-wife doesn't let the man, acquitted by the court, into the house with the children: he pays the mortgage and rent.
In Spain, a woman is preventing her ex-partner from entering their shared home with their children, despite a court ruling in his favor in a domestic violence case, forcing the man to pay both the mortgage and rent at the same time.
The woman has been preventing her ex-boyfriend and his two children from entering their shared home for several months. Previously, they all lived together in the town of Puertito de Güímar. The man moved out a year and a half ago after being accused of possible domestic violence. This was on the advice of his lawyer.
Initially, the court found no grounds for a restraining order against the man and temporarily closed the case. The woman appealed, but a higher court upheld the previous decision.
She appealed this decision again, but the court again rejected her arguments and definitively closed the case at the insistence of the prosecution.
That is, the man was never prohibited from approaching his ex, nor was he evicted from the house where they lived.
Although the courts have found the man innocent, he still cannot return to his house, which he co-owns with his ex. Neither he nor his children can enter because the woman has changed the locks and will not open the door for them.
Héctor Navas and his two children, one of whom has autism, are suffering from this situation and are seeking help from the court. He continues to pay half of the mortgage and is also forced to pay rent for other housing, according to his lawyer, Mercedes Zerolo.
Last Friday, he tried to enter the house. The man sent his ex a message about his intention, but she refused to receive it. Then Héctor Navas, with a court order in his favor and accompanied by his lawyer, came to the house. The woman did not open the door, even though the police and civil guard arrived.
Lawyer Mercedes Zerolo said that the police understood the situation and tried to talk to the woman to find some kind of solution. But her client's ex-partner initially did not want to open the door, and when she did, she did not listen to them and locked herself in again.
Importantly, the children are registered at this house, and it is also their father's place of residence. Héctor Navas stated this to the police that same evening. He also explained that he had already moved out of the rented accommodation because he had been definitively acquitted in the domestic violence case.
The court decided that there was insufficient evidence of violence. The woman claimed physical and psychological violence, insults, abuse, and even claimed that her ex had taken intimate photos of her without permission. But the court noted that there was no evidence other than her word. And she still lives in the same house with him and is interested in him moving out. The court recognizes her right to peace, but believes that the accusations need to be at least minimally substantiated.
The judges emphasized that the complaint concerned two specific incidents. One occurred in June 2023, but the case was temporarily suspended because neither the woman nor the man appeared for questioning. In addition, the medical report attached to the complaint contains no evidence of injury other than a state of anxiety, which may have been caused by the conflict situation itself.
Regarding the other incident, the alleged crime against privacy and sexual freedom, the investigator and prosecutor believe that it concerns a relationship that was very close, even intimate, despite the fact that, according to the woman, there were no longer any feelings between them.
The court decision states that there are no insults, threats, or physical violence in the materials provided. It cannot be argued that the man's sexual acts were violent, except from the interpretation of the messages.
And finally, the court noted that the woman had not provided any arguments to challenge the reasoned court decision, which was supported by the prosecution.