Prosecutors in Spains’ Alicante are demanding that an online child sex groomer be given a 285-year sentence if convicted of all 42 charges
Investigators allege that the 37-year-old man used social media to befriend 42 children from across Spain and coax them into sending him homemade pornography. The man had an online relationship with a girl for three years, eventually meeting her for sex when she was just 15 years old.
He was arrested shortly after meeting her in an Alicante hotel with police uncovering the full extent of his activities, which also included hooking up with another girl. The victims were aged between 9 and 16 years, and all bar four were females.
All of the children were tricked by his active participation in online forums and WhatsApp groups between 2017 and 2019. Some of the groups were created by himself using a bogus identity as he pretended to be a child. In some cases, he joined groups that featured children unsure of their sexuality.
Once he built up an element of trust with a potential victim, he revealed his true identity and in one-to-one chats, he swerved conservation topics toward sex and asked them to send him pornographic images.
The predator allegedly also latched onto vulnerable children staying in juvenile centres and even paid them to maintain contact with him.
The charges
The investigation has been carried out by the Court of Instruction number one of Alicante, which has already sent it to the Court for the trial to be held. The defendant is accused of the crimes of displaying pornographic material to minors, making child pornography, child abuse, and inducing the prostitution of minors. The long list of crimes adds up to 285 years in prison if he is found guilty.
In the same way, for each of the more than 42 crimes that he is accused of, another penalty is claimed for which he is prohibited from using computer or telephone chats and social networks for five years.
In addition, compensation totaling 48,000 euros for the victims is claimed, although the largest amount is for the two young women with whom the defendant did have sexual relations. The Prosecutor’s Office also requests the disqualification of the accused for any profession that involves contact with minors.
