A professor from the Autonomous University of Madrid accepted on Tuesday at the Provincial Court of Madrid a sentence of four and a half years in prison for crimes of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse committed against three subordinates. The acknowledgment of the facts and the claim of suffering from bipolar disorder, which partially affected his control capacity, significantly reduced the requested penalty.
The trial was resolved through a conformity agreement between the Public Prosecutor's Office and the defense, a procedure that avoids a full trial when the accused admits responsibility and the parties agree on a sentence to be reflected in the judgment. This resolution method expedites the judicial process by foregoing the presentation of evidence.
The Prosecutor's Office had initially sought thirteen years in prison, considering several sex offenses proven within the context of the academic and subordinate relationship with the victims. However, the acknowledgment of the facts and the application of mitigating factors reduced the agreed-upon sentence to four and a half years in jail, a substantial reduction from the original request.
Two mitigating circumstances underpinned this reduction. The first was the reparation of damages, as the accused had compensated the victims. The second was based on the psychological alteration stemming from the bipolar disorder that, according to the defense, the professor suffers from and which allegedly partially affected his volitional capacities and impulse control at the time of the offenses.
The defense lawyer argued before the court that the accused's mental illness is "serious" and "incurable." To support this argument, a psychiatric expert report was presented detailing the professor's mental pathologies and the medical treatment he is undergoing, seeking to justify the need for alternatives to effective imprisonment.
The defense also requested the suspension of the prison sentence execution, arguing that the defendant's mental health condition would warrant a measure other than actual admission to a penitentiary center. This request aims for the professor to serve the sentence under supervised liberty rather than entering prison.
The accused will undergo a new forensic medical examination in the coming days. This examination will allow the magistrates to assess more precisely the real extent of his illness and decide whether to grant the suspension of the sentence or if he must effectively enter prison to serve the imposed penalty.
In relation to the first victim, the agreement includes a conviction for sexual harassment of eight months' fine, with a daily rate of eight euros, in addition to four years in prison for a continued offense of sexual assault. This sentence reflects the gravity of the acts committed against this subordinate.
Regarding the other two victims, the professor has also been convicted of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and sexual abuse. For these offenses, he is imposed, among other penalties, a six-month prison sentence, differing from the more severe penalty imposed for the acts against the first victim.
The sentence will also include a supervised release measure for five years, aimed at controlling and monitoring the convicted person's conduct once the custodial sentence is served. He will also be disqualified from practicing as a professor for three years, preventing him from holding teaching positions in educational or university centers during that period, a measure intended to protect the academic community from future risks.
