Overview

• Five corporals and one soldier received prison terms of six months to one year, suspension from duty during the sentence, and a joint €2,000 award for moral damages.
• The court affirmed that the abuse was collective and sustained, citing denigrating remarks and gestures directed at the corporal because she is a woman.
• Judges rejected defenses claiming trivial jokes or free speech, stressing service members’ duty to maintain decorum and respect under the Reales Ordenanzas.
• The victim sought help from a military psychologist in March 2021 and took medical leave from May to September that year for emotional distress.
• The incidents occurred at the Cavalry Academy’s support squadron in Valladolid; one convicted corporal has since left the Army, and only two sent apologies by WhatsApp.