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The Real Madrid defender Raúl Asencio and three former youth players at the club could face trial in connection with the alleged filming and distribution of a sexual video that has left two women, one of them a minor, with symptoms of post-traumatic stress.
In a statement released on Wednesday, a judge on Gran Canaria said he had concluded his preliminary investigation into the recording and distribution of the incident, which is alleged to have taken place in a private area of a beach club on the island on 15 June 2023.
The judge added that a summary criminal case had been prepared and the file given to prosecutors “regarding the four footballers allegedly implicated in the filming and distribution of videos of a sexual nature involving a female minor and another young woman”.
He noted that the alleged victims – who were 16 and 18 at the time – “are currently suffering post-traumatic symptoms as a result of the experience they have been through”.
The judge said the alleged offences included “sharing secrets without consent and violating privacy, distributing and sending videos to third parties without the consent of the women involved, the use of minors for pornographic purposes, and possession of child pornography”.
The court statement did not identify the men allegedly involved – nor explain which player is accused of which offence – but they have been identified in Spanish media as Asencio and his former colleagues Andrés García, Ferrán Ruiz and Juan Rodríguez.
In September 2023, three unnamed Real Madrid reserve players were arrested in connection with the incident and were released after the data on their mobile phones was seized.
According to Spanish media reports the main suspect, whose identity is unknown, recorded a consensual sexual encounter with the young girl, which he then sent to the other players without her consent.
Police said the case had followed a complaint filed by the mother of a 16-year-old girl in the Canary Islands regarding an alleged recording of sexual relations.
They added that while the girl maintained the relations were consensual, the recording had been made without her consent and that she had recently become aware of it.
Real Madrid issued a statement at the time saying that a total of four youth team players had been questioned by police “in connection with a complaint about an alleged release of a private video via WhatsApp” messaging system.
