At least 278 convicted of sexual crimes have already benefited from their sentences by the "only yes is yes" law

In recent days, 19 reductions have been reported that have occurred in Castilla y León, the Basque Country and the Supreme Court

MADRID, 27 Ene. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The number of those convicted of sexual crimes who have benefited from the new penalty framework included in the 'only yes is yes' law amounts to at least 278, between lower sentence reviews and subsequent sentences in application of the rule . Since October 7, when the Penal Code reform came into force, the release of 20 people has been ordered. The last 19 sentence reductions have transpired this Wednesday, Thursday and Friday have occurred in Andalusia, Castilla y León, Galicia, the Basque Country and the Supreme Court.

The Court of Vizcaya has reduced the prison sentences imposed on nine convicted of sexual crimes considering that the Organic Law of Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom is more favorable to them. On average, in these cases the magistrates have agreed reductions of between one and two years.

Added to the list are three reductions issued this week by the Supreme Court, which has modified the prison sentences of three convicted of a group rape of a woman with mental disabilities that took place in 2019 in a park in Orkoien, Navarra, considering that the environmental intimidation was not face-to-face and when applying the new wording of the Penal Code.

In this case, the Court of Navarra had sentenced the three as necessary collaborators in the sexual assaults committed by two of them, because one of the defendants had consensual relations with the young woman.

Now, the Supreme Court has considered it pertinent to maintain the sentences for the two who were convicted of the crime of sexual assault, but has agreed to reduce those imposed on them as collaborators in said attacks. Thus, two have gone from 17 to 13 years in prison and one has gone from 16 to 8 years.

On the sidelines, one more case has been recorded in Andalusia after the Superior Court of Justice has reduced from 7 years to 6 years and 8 months the prison sentence for a man who repeatedly raped his partner's youngest daughter when she was not at home.

In addition, the Provincial Court of León has notified two new reductions. In one case, the prison sentence of a young man who sexually assaulted his ex-partner in a wasteland in the city has been modified from 6 to 4 years. In the other, the sentence has been reduced from 4 years to 3 years, 2 months and 1 day for a man who sexually assaulted a young woman in the meter room of a building and, in addition, stole the victim's credit cards and other effects.

In Galicia, three other sales have been registered. In one of the cases, the Court of Pontevedra has reduced from 10 to 9 years the prison sentence of a man who sexually abused his partner's daughter.

In the second, the Court of Ourense has revised downward - from 8 years to 7 years and 6 months - the prison sentence of a convicted person who sexually assaulted a woman in a pub bathroom. In the third case, the Court of A Coruña has reduced from 11 years to 10 years and 6 months in prison the sentence imposed on a man convicted of continuously sexually abusing his underage daughter.

With the 19 new reductions recorded between Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, the number of those convicted of sexual crimes who have benefited from the 'only yes is yes' law has gone from 259 to 278 since last Tuesday.

Last week, the Minister of Justice, Pilar Llop, regretted that the "only yes is yes" law had not had "the desired effects" and assured that in the field of transitory law the Government "thought that another type of response" in line with the proposal by the State Attorney General's Office.

As of January 27, sentence reviews and sentence reductions are confirmed in 17 autonomous communities. According to the data collected so far by Europa Press, there are 44 in the Basque Country, 42 in Madrid, 33 in the Valencian Community, 30 in Galicia, 21 in Andalusia, 21 in Castilla y León, 18 in the Balearic Islands, 13 in the Canary Islands, 13 in Asturias , 11 in Catalonia, 9 in the Supreme Court, 8 in Extremadura, 7 in Cantabria, 2 in Murcia, 2 in La Rioja, 2 in Aragón, 1 in Castilla-La Mancha and 1 in Navarra.

Of these 278 cases, 20 have led to the release of convicts: 6 from Madrid, 2 from the Balearic Islands, 2 from Galicia, 2 in the Valencian Community, 2 from Cantabria, 2 in Asturias, 1 in Extremadura, 1 in Castilla y León, 1 in the Canary Islands and 1 in the Basque Country --by order of the Supreme Court--.

Among the most substantial reductions registered, there are two in Cantabria in which the prison sentence was reduced by 7 years. Thus, those convicted went from sentences of 18 years to 11 years for a sexual assault on a young woman in a Santander hostel.

The cases recorded here represent a low estimate, since not all the Supreme Courts keep an up-to-date record of the number of reduction cases that are handed down in their courts.

In the 278 cases registered so far, the magistrates explain that these reviews and sentence reductions are made because the Criminal Code itself, in its article 2.2, establishes that the "most favorable" law must always be applied to the prisoner.

The law of 'only yes is yes' has caused the crime of sexual assault to absorb that of sexual abuse, which means that a crime that until now included a more serious conduct incorporates a less serious one, so that the criminal fork also It has been expanded to cover the full range of behaviors now punishable as sexual assault.

Thus, the legal sources consulted by Europa Press explain that the number of cases in which the discounts are applied will continue to grow due to the pending reviews in all the autonomous communities.

The Supreme Court assured in its ruling on the 'Arandina case' that the application of the Organic Law of Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom is "mandatory" because it is "more favorable" to the prisoner.

The high court had to make use of the penal modification when reviewing the sentence of the 'Arandina case' and sentenced two former players of that football club to 9 years in prison -and not 10, as requested by the Prosecutor. the law of 'only yes is yes'.

The magistrates raised the sentences - from 4 and 3 years that the TSJ of Castilla y León had set - after eliminating the mitigation that had been appreciated due to the closeness of age and maturity between the convicted and the victim.

The Supreme Court has already reduced 9 prison sentences related to crimes of sexual assault since the reform of the Penal Code entered into force. One of them has led to a release in the Basque Country.