Galician Courts Deliver Split Outcomes: Vigo Conviction Upheld, Arousa Defendant Acquitted

Overview

• Galicia’s high court (TSXG) confirmed a four-year prison term for a Vigo man for sexually abusing a woman who was deeply asleep after taking prescribed psychiatric medication.
• The upheld sentence includes five years of supervised release, a six-year restraining order and €6,000 in compensation to the victim.
• Judges found the man knew the drugs left the woman sedated and concluded he performed non-consensual touching, including digital penetration, while she could not react.
• The TSXG rejected defense claims of evidentiary error, due-process violations and presumption-of-innocence breaches, stating the record leaves no room for doubt.
• In a separate ruling, the Pontevedra provincial court acquitted an Arousa man of continued sexual abuse of a minor, citing inconsistent testimony, lack of corroboration, repeated trial no-shows by the complainant and reliance on the presumption of innocence over events dating to early 2022.