Two Men Sentenced to 12 Years for Triple Rape of Hearing-Impaired Woman; Supreme Court Upholds Conviction

Two men have been sentenced to 12 years in prison each for the triple rape of a hearing-impaired woman in Adeje. They have also been ordered to pay €15,000 each. The Supreme Court has rejected their appeals.

The incident occurred on the night of January 1st to 2nd, 2023. The victim was at a New Year's Eve celebration in Adeje with her husband, who is also deaf, and friends. Among the guests were the two men now convicted, and a third individual who is currently unaccounted for.

The victim was intoxicated from alcohol and hashish, a state the three men exploited to commit the rapes.

As a result of the assault, an old childbirth wound reopened, causing her pain during sexual relations. She also sustained an injury to her hand.

Following a report, the two defendants were held in pre-trial detention, as their appeals to the Provincial Court and the High Court of Justice of the Canary Islands (TSJC) were unsuccessful.

In their appeals to the Supreme Court, the men argued that there wasn't enough evidence to prove their guilt. They also claimed that a toxicology report, taken 18 hours after the events, couldn't definitively show the victim was under the influence of alcohol and cannabis.

Furthermore, they challenged the victim's testimony. She had stated she remembered nothing due to her intoxication and only learned of the assault from her mother-in-law. The defense also questioned why she would return to bed without waking her husband.

The Supreme Court noted that recent legal changes limit its ability to overturn convictions unless a significant procedural error is proven, which was not the case here.

The Supreme Court upheld the original decisions of the Provincial Court and the TSJC. They found that the evidence was sufficient to establish guilt and that the victim's testimony was credible.

The ruling emphasized that there were no inconsistencies in the core details of the victim's account. It also confirmed that both she and her husband were asleep, meaning she did not consent to the sexual acts.

The trial, held in September 2024, required two sign language interpreters. This was because the victim's native sign language differed from that used in Spain.

The defense attributed perceived contradictions in the victim's statements to communication difficulties. These discrepancies were not considered fundamental and were linked to the fact that she did not have the necessary two interpreters present when she initially gave her statement, an issue the Provincial Court described as "regrettable."