If you have been charged with a sexual offense in Spain, you need certainties. This article summarizes, without beating around the bush, what sentences the current Criminal Code establishes for sexual offenses, what factors can increase or decrease the sentence and how to build a serious defense from day one. Here you will find key and updated information, with solid legal basis, to make well-informed decisions. The objective is for you to understand your situation, reduce risk and plan an effective procedural strategy.
What do you need to know about sexual offenses?
How the Criminal Code defines the crime of sexual assault
Today, any act that violates sexual freedom without consent is sexual assault. The legislator understands that there is consent when the person manifests it freely through acts that, according to the case, clearly express their will. Assumptions are not enough. «I thought so» doesn’t work. The definition and the evidentiary requirement revolve around conclusive acts. In this type of crime, the victim’s statement will be sufficient to convict, as long as it meets the reliability test.
The concept of sexual assault and its sentence after the reform
Since LO 10/2022, «sexual abuse» disappears: any act
Do you want to know what to do if you have been charged with sexual assault?
What are the sentences when the victim is under 16 years old? (art. 181 CP)
Sexual acts with minors under 16 are punished with 2 to 6 years imprisonment. If the means of art. 178.2–178.3 are present (violence, intimidation, superiority, vulnerability, victim deprived of consciousness or nullified will), the sentence increases to 5 to 10 years.
With carnal access, the framework is 8 to 12 years (basic) or 12 to 15 years if, in addition, coercive means exist. Art. 181.5 adds aggravating circumstances that take the sentence to the upper half: joint action, extreme gravity, special vulnerability (includes minor under 4 years old), partner, superiority/kinship/cohabitation, weapons, chemical submission or organization/criminal group. If the perpetrator is an authority or public official, absolute disqualification from 6 to 12 years is added.
What sentence applies for making a minor under 16 witness sexual acts? (art. 182 CP)
Anyone who makes witness acts of a sexual nature to a
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What factors are taken into account to convict in a sexual offense?
What proven facts establish the sentencing range?
The criminal classification opens a range. The evidence places the sentence in one section or another. The account of proven facts determines whether we are dealing with art. 178.1, 178.3, 179.1 or 179.2, and whether aggravating circumstances of art. 180 are present. Our job consists of disputing the subsumption, refining the account and closing aggravating avenues from the investigation phase. Every factual nuance counts. Every technical detail counts more.
What evidence is decisive: consent, violence and chemical submission?
Three expert blocks change the outcome:
- Consent. We analyze messaging, audios, chronology and context before, during and after. We look for positive signs of consent and contradictions in the complaint.
- Violence or intimidation. We review injuries, medical reports, coercion markers and consistency of the account. We contrast each aspect with forensic reports.
- Chemical submission. We activate toxicology and pharmacokinetics. We control detection windows, chain of
Abogado penalista en Madrid (Graduado en Derecho y ADE con Máster de Acceso a la Abogacía), experto en procedimientos complejos y técnicos en Derecho Penal. Cuenta con títulos como el Curso de DerechoPenal Avanzado impartido por magistrados del Tribunal Supremo en el Iltre. Colegio de Abogacía de Madrid.