Overview
- The Audiencia Provincial de Málaga handed the priest a combined 52-year prison term in mid-July 2026 for multiple sexual-abuse crimes and for secretly photographing and recording four women.
- The sentence breaks down into 36 years for three continued sexual-abuse offences with penetration, four years for a continued sexual-abuse offence without penetration, and 12 years for four offences of discovery and revelation of secrets.
- The case began after the priest’s then-partner found an external hard drive in late 2022; a police complaint was filed on 24 August 2023 and the priest entered pretrial detention on 12 September 2023.
- The court recognized that the priest supplied a substance that caused deep drowsiness or loss of consciousness and that he abused his spiritual authority, and it awarded €403,129 in joint indemnities for psychological and moral damages.
- The Diocese of Málaga was declared subsidiarily civilly liable and the bishop said the Church will pay the full indemnity irrevocably while offering personal meetings and a victim-support service, though diocesan lawyers may still pursue legal appeals.