At least 544 convicted of sexual crimes have already benefited from their sentences by the "only yes is yes" law

Some 48 people have been released after seeing their prison sentences revised downward

MADRID, 17 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 544, 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 48 people has been ordered. The last 37 sentence reductions have occurred in Andalusia, Aragon, Asturias, the Balearic Islands, Castilla y León, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Galicia, Madrid and the Supreme Court.

Specifically, there are 37 more cases than a week ago, when the number of people who had seen their sentences reduced reached 507. On Friday, February 10, 6 downward modifications were registered. On Monday 3 joined; on Tuesday, 1. On Wednesday the counter went up in 4 cases. Yesterday, Thursday, another 3. This Friday, the update adds 20 and there are already 544 beneficiaries.

The list has been increased because the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of the Valencian Community has informed today of 14 new reductions; 2 of them lead to releases.

The TSJ of Catalonia, for its part, has provided data on 4 new cases. In one of them, the prison sentence imposed on a man who raped his ex-partner, whom he locked up with a bicycle chain at his home, is reduced from 7 to 5 years.

In Galicia there have been 5 sales in the last week. One of them has resulted in the release of 'the portal rapist' from Lugo. The victim's defense has assured that the young woman is "destroyed, outraged and concerned" by the release of her aggressor, as confirmed to Europa Press by her lawyer Gonzalo Díaz Rodríguez.

In another of the cases computed in the Galician courts, the magistrates have modified from 9 to 8 years the prison sentence for a man who in 2007, when he was on regular leave from the Teixeiro prison, assaulted the victim in his own house after stealing her keys and raping her.

In Andalusia, there are 2 more cases. One of them has been notified this Friday by the Cádiz Court, which has reduced the prison sentence of a man convicted of sexually assaulting a 7-year-old girl by two years.

In the Balearic Islands, for its part, a case has been registered this week that has led to the release of the convicted person. The Provincial Court of Palma, in application of the penal reform, has decreed the release of the man who raped a woman after assaulting her house in Ibiza.

In Madrid, the TSJ has informed this week of a new reduction. Its magistrates have changed the prison sentence for a man who continuously abused two minors from 20 years to 15 years. According to the sentence, he contacted his first victim in April 2004 through Instagram and persuaded him to meet in person. This first meeting gave rise to many others in which the abuses were committed. A month later, he got his victim to introduce him to a friend of the same age who he also abused.

In addition, there are 3 modifications in Aragon and 3 downward revisions in Asturias. In Castilla y León, 2 more reductions have been recorded in Palencia, one of them with release.

Finally, the Supreme Court has agreed to apply two new reductions in sentences to those convicted of sexual crimes because the 'only yes is yes' law is more beneficial for them; In one of the cases, the sentence has been lowered with the endorsement of the Prosecutor's Office, which --until now-- had shown its opposition in the rest of the reviews. One of the prisoners is reduced from 9 to 7 years and the other from 12 to 9 years. In both cases, the men took their victims to wilderness areas to rape them.

As of February 17, sentence reviews and sentence reductions are confirmed in 17 autonomous communities. According to the data collected so far by Europa Press, there are 114 in Andalusia, 74 in Madrid, 69 in the Valencian Community, 53 in the Basque Country, 50 in Galicia, 40 in the Balearic Islands, 34 in Castilla y León, 20 in Castilla-La Mancha, 19 in Asturias, 17 in Catalonia, 14 in the Canary Islands, 12 in the Supreme Court, 8 in Extremadura, 7 in Cantabria, 5 in Aragon, 4 in Navarra, 2 in Murcia and 2 in La Rioja.

Of these 544 cases, 48 ​​have led to the release of convicts: 8 in Andalusia, 7 in Madrid, 6 in the Basque Country --1 by order of the Supreme Court--, 6 in Castilla y León, 6 in the Valencian Community, 4 in Balearic Islands, 4 from Galicia, 2 from Cantabria, 2 in Asturias, 1 in Extremadura, 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 February 9, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) already agreed to request from the Superior Courts of Justice and the provincial courts the resolutions issued in relation to the application of the Organic Law of Comprehensive Guarantee of Sexual Freedom.

In the modifications agreed to so far, the magistrates explain that these downward revisions are made because the Penal 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 stated 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.

Until now, the Supreme Court has deliberated on the appeals filed against 23 sentences. In 14 of the cases it has agreed to maintain the sentences imposed; and in the other 9 it has deemed it appropriate to reduce the prison sentences for being more favorable to the convicted. In total, there are already 12 convicts benefited in the high court by the penal reform. One of these reductions has led to a release in the Basque Country.