The Public Prosecutor’s Office has no doubt that the parents arrested by the Mossos d’Esquadra abused their baby and has requested that both remain in pretrial detention. This was made clear during the hearing held before the third section of the Barcelona Court of Appeal to review the appeal filed by the parents against their imprisonment. The prosecutors of the Specialized Service for the Protection of Vulnerable Persons, Félix Martín and Elisabet Jiménez, detailed before the court the evidence gathered during the investigation that points directly to the parents. “The indications are unequivocal,” they stated in a closed session.
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The Mossos arrested a 42-year-old man and a 43-year-old woman on March 18 after the Vall d’Hebron hospital — where the mother worked as a nurse — activated the anti-abuse protocol upon detecting that their baby, only six weeks old, had extremely serious injuries: a femur fracture and two fissures in the rectum. According to the forensic experts who examined the infant, these injuries were incompatible with illness and could only have been caused intentionally. “The genital injuries are so severe that they are very difficult to justify,” they emphasized. The detainees are accused of habitual abuse, injuries, and sexual assault with penetration.
“The genital injuries are so severe that they are very difficult to justify”
The Generalitat — which is also involved in the process as a private prosecutor — has taken charge of the baby, who has been placed with a foster family. Since being removed from the care of his parents, the child has been progressing favorably. The child’s father submitted a medical report warning that he suffers from a genetic disease causing muscular dystrophy and indicated it could be hereditary. However, the forensic expert ruled out that the child suffers from any such pathology.
The Generalitat has appeared in the process as a private prosecutor
The defense lawyers of the parents, Montserrat Antolino and Rafael Domènech, have requested the release of their clients, considering that the legal requirements to maintain pretrial detention are not met. They argued that there is no flight risk because they lack the financial means to leave the country, have roots, and their entire family resides in Catalonia. Additionally, they proposed the placement of an electronic monitoring bracelet as an alternative measure. They also maintained that there is no risk of reoffending, as they have no other children, and that they cannot destroy or alter evidence because all witnesses have already testified before the Mossos d’Esquadra.
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The Public Prosecutor’s Office, however, maintains a diametrically opposed position. It considers that there is a high flight risk, given the severity of the prison sentences they could face in a potential trial. In its view, there is also a risk of reoffending, estimating that if they were capable of committing acts with such “brutality,” they possess a “criminal dangerousness” that would allow them to act similarly. “Sometimes reoffending is demonstrated by the brutality of the assault. We deduce that the gratuitousness implies a criminal dangerousness that they could inflict harm on others,” it argued. Finally, it warns that they could alter sources of evidence. It understands that they could “coerce” family members and neighbors who still have to testify before the investigating judge.
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So far, several witnesses have testified before the Mossos d’Esquadra. A woman who shared a room with the baby at the Vall d’Hebron hospital — and who has been granted protected witness status — alerted the healthcare staff about the abuse the father inflicted on the child. She warned about the force with which he gave the bottle and recounted that he covered the baby’s mouth to stop him from crying. The Mossos continue these days taking statements from the doctors who treated the infant at the various healthcare centers he passed through before the arrest: physicians from Hospital del Mar, Sant Joan de Déu, CAP Roger de Flor, and Hospital de Sant Pau.
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