Tallulah Taylor
ONE of the most prolific sexual predators in Spain is facing a ‘thousand year’ prison sentence over the abuse of at least 98 children.
Prosecutors are calling for 1,324-year jail sentence for the defendant, named only as Jose Angel S.S, who appeared in a Madrid court this week accused of over 200 crimes of abuse and corruption of minors, prostitution, cyberbullying and dissemination of child pornography.
Madrid’s Provincial Court heard how Jose Angel, 31, who worked in a law firm and coached a football team, had preyed on children, grooming them over social media.
He had opened an Instagram account posing as a teenage girl named Lorena and asked for explicit photos and videos from his victims.
Most of the contact with minors was sporadic, but at least eight were maintained over time.
The accused used deceit, tricks and manipulation to obtain indecent images of the children which was then used to ensure their cooperation and silence, the court heard.
Jose Angel pleaded guilty to the charges admitting that he ‘suffered a perversion’ and was undergoing impulse therapy treatment. He issued a long statement apologizing to his victims.
The serial offender was arrested after police received reports from a parent who became suspicious over contact their teenage son had with a supposed teenager back in 2018.
The arrest came after police launched Operation Kamikaze to monitor him.
As Spain does not run prison sentences concurrently, unlike the United States, the maximum sentence Jose Angel could spend inside is 30 years, which could be reduced to 20 as he pleaded guilty to his crimes.
There were more than 40,000 offences against children recorded in 2019, according to data from Spain’s Interior Ministry.
Last year saw Spain introduce a pioneering new child protection law named “Rhodes Law” after James Rhodes, the British pianist based in Madrid who led the campaign for new legislation to investigate historic sex offences.
Ensuring children’s safety online is an important tool for protecting them. Is4k provides information for parents or carers on how to keep their children safe online, they provide advice and material to help parents create a judgemental free space and implement preventative safety measures for children online.
READ MORE:
INTERVIEW: Meet James Rhodes, the British piano man behind Spain’s new child protection law
Groomer caught: Police arrest man for paedophile offence against 1000 children
