Former basketball coach sentenced to brutal jail for sexually assaulting a minor
Basketball and sport in Spain in general agree with the sentencing of former coach Mario López for the continued crime of sexual assault of a player who was a minor.
López was coach of the Lointek Gernika basketball club and of the lower teams of the Spanish national team and was sentenced to thirteen and a half years in prison.
Mario López sexually assaulted the minor on fifty occasions "The Sixth Section of the Biscayan Court has considered proven that in 1998, when the victim was 13 years old and the defendant 31, he sexually assaulted the minor on fifty occasions, behaviors that were "increasingly acquiring relevance in terms of frequency and intensity," Mundo Deportivo reported.
The Catalan newspaper pointed out that the sentence, which can be appealed before the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country , concludes that the defendant acted taking advantage of his knowledge of the personal and family situation of the minor, "exercising the position of power conferred on him by the age difference", as well as his status as coach and the "fear" she felt towards him.
"The evaluation of the Comprehensive Forensic Assessment Unit and the statements of witnesses confirmed that the victim was in a situation of dependence and fear towards his coach," said www.elespañol.com
The court highlighted the contradictions in López's defence. In his first statement, he denied any relationship with the victim, but during the oral trial he admitted having had encounters with her, although he claimed that they were consensual, the Spanish newspaper reported.
eltiempo
