A 57-year-old man has received a four-year prison sentence for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl during a bus ride in Tenerife, and must also pay 2,000 euros in moral damages.
The incident occurred on the afternoon of 29th May 2021, when the accused boarded a bus that the then 15-year-old girl was riding on, and sat next to her despite there being other empty seats.
Then, according to the court report, he began to ask her where she lived and became interested in the jeans she was wearing. He put his hand between the holes in them and caressed her thigh, causing the young woman to freeze.
The defendant continued and grabbed her by the arm and touched her breast. She asked him to leave her alone, but instead of stopping, he tried to hug the girl and kiss her on the face while telling her that he was looking for a girlfriend and that he liked young girls.
When the bus stopped, the teenager decided to get off even though she hadn't yet reached her destination. The defendant then followed her onto the street, where she asked a pedestrian for help and was assisted by staff from a nearby business.
Once the defendant was identified by the descriptions given by the complainant and the people who helped her, he was arrested.
Adding to the incident is the fact that the man is a repeat offender of this type of crime, and had already been sentenced in 2018 to two and a half years in prison for attempted sexual assault.
The sentence, which is final, also includes a ban on the defendant engaging in sports, teaching, or leisure activities that involve regular contact with minors for three years, and a ban on approaching within 500 meters of the victim for an additional three years. He will also remain on probation for another five years when he is released from prison.
