Overview
- A Barcelona court applied the full mental‑illness exemption and found the man lacked criminal responsibility, ordering psychiatric treatment or admission for up to 18 months plus freedom supervision and a 500‑metre no‑approach and no‑contact order.
- The ruling follows repeated breaches of earlier orders: the defendant was convicted for stalking in 2023 and between May and July 2025 he forced entry into the artist’s workshop, stole a pendant and left written messages.
- Paula Bonet has said the harassment seriously damaged her daily life and work, forcing her to move, install alarms and cameras, hire security at times, buy a defensive dog and bear ongoing emotional and financial costs.
- Bonet reported a new break‑in and the theft of a small piece from her gallery days after the man left the centre where he had been treated, and the police scientific unit has inspected the scene while no public suspect has been named.
- The case highlights tension between medical measures and public safety because prosecutors and the victim sought prison, so attention will fall on enforcement of treatment orders, monitoring of the no‑contact ban and the police inquiry into the latest intrusion.