Overview

• The TSJPV upheld the 13-year prison sentence against Mario López, who coached Lointek Gernika’s women’s basketball team.
• The Audiencia de Bizkaia found that López abused the victim in about 50 encounters from 1998 to 2001, exploiting his role when she was aged 13 to 16.
• López’s defense argued the verdict rested solely on the survivor’s memory and that her testimony had become “scripted” over two decades; the TSJPV dismissed these claims.
• In its ruling, the TSJPV concluded there was sufficient corroborating evidence and that minor recall inconsistencies did not undermine the victim’s credibility.
• The sentence remains subject to appeal at the Supreme Court before becoming final.