At least 400 convicted of sexual crimes have already benefited from their sentences by the "only yes is yes" law

In recent days, 26 new sales have been announced in Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, Navarra and the Basque Country

MADRID, 3 Feb. (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 400, between lower sentence reviews and subsequent sentences in application of the norm . Since October 7, when the Penal Code reform came into force, the release of 28 people has been ordered. The last 26 penalty reductions have transpired this Thursday and Friday and have occurred in Andalusia, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Navarra and the Basque Country.

There are 122 more cases than last Friday, when the number of convicts who had seen their sentences reduced reached 278. On Monday the figure rose to 338. On Wednesday it reached 374. This Friday, within the framework of the negotiations that maintained by the Ministries of Equality and Justice to carry out a reform of the law, the number of sexual offenders benefited stands at 400.

The last registered cases have been communicated by the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of Andalusia, which has added 6 new reductions: 5 in Malaga --one of them has led to release-- and 1 in Jaén.

In the Balearic Islands, for its part, the TSJ has reported 11 new sentence modifications for those convicted of sexual crimes. As specified, the criminal sections of the Provincial Court have so far studied a total of 94 matters subject to review: in 55 cases the sentence has not been reduced; in 39, yes. Another 90 convictions remain pending review.

In Catalonia, the Provincial Court of Lleida has reduced the prison sentence for a man convicted of a crime of sexual assault from 7 to 5 years and 4 months.

Likewise, the Provincial Court of Barcelona has agreed to apply the Organic Law of Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom to a man who, when he was a coach at a football club in Sant Joan Despí, committed a crime of sexual assault against a minor under 16 years of age. The court has sentenced him to 9 years in prison and has explained that he does so in compliance with the penal reform for being "more favorable to the prisoner."

The list also includes a new reduction in Navarra, where the Provincial Court has modified from 9 to 7 years the prison sentence imposed on a man who raped his ex-partner in June 2020 in Pamplona.

On the sidelines, six other sexual offenders have seen their prison sentences reduced in Álava, Basque Country. One of them has benefited from a five-year reduction, seeing his prison sentence for a crime of sexual assault go from 12 to 7 years.

As of February 3, sentence reviews and sentence reductions are confirmed in 17 autonomous communities. According to the data collected so far by Europa Press, there are 70 in Andalusia, 53 in the Basque Country, 46 in the Valencian Community, 42 in Madrid, 39 in the Balearic Islands, 33 in Galicia, 21 in Castilla y León, 20 in Castilla-La Mancha, 16 in Asturias, 14 in the Canary Islands, 13 in Catalonia, 9 in the Supreme Court, 8 in Extremadura, 7 in Cantabria, 3 in Navarra, 2 in Murcia, 2 in La Rioja and 2 in Aragon.

Of these 400 cases, 29 have led to the release of convicts: 6 from Madrid, 6 from the Basque Country --1 by order of the Supreme Court--, 3 from the Balearic Islands, 2 from Galicia, 2 from the Valencian Community, 2 from Cantabria, 2 in Andalusia, 2 in Asturias, 1 in Extremadura, 1 in Castilla y León, 1 in the Canary Islands and 1 in Castilla-La Mancha.

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. On the sidelines, hundreds of reviews have also been computed in which the judges have considered that it is not appropriate to apply the penal reform retroactively, among other reasons, because the sentence is within the range now in force.

On January 20, 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 transitional law the Government "thought that another type of response" in line with the proposal by the State Attorney General's Office.

Last Monday, the spokesperson for the PSOE Electoral Committee, Pilar Alegría, assured that the parliamentary group will present "as soon as possible" a bill to reform the "only yes is yes" law to "close the door to unwanted effects". of it and for which they hope to have the support of their coalition partners from United We Can.

From the 'purple' formation they have rejected any change that involves returning to the previous legislative model, something that they appreciate in the Justice proposal in the face of "pressure" from the PP and conservative sectors.

In the 400 modifications agreed to so far, the magistrates explain that these downward revisions 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.