• Courts The Court of Barcelona annuls the sentence of the harasser of Paula Bonet

After following the indications of the Court of Barcelona, the Criminal Court number 10 of Barcelona has better argued the conviction of Víctor G.T. for harassing the artist Paula Bonet for years and imposing the same penalties that almost 10 months ago. Specifically, the judge believes that his conduct cannot be considered to deserve criminal reproach for the crimes of harassment, threats and breach of sentence, by applying the defense of psychic alteration.

In this way, for the court the condemned suffers from an "erotic-manic" disorder that led him to become obsessed with the artist and therefore orders him to follow psychiatric treatment for a maximum of four years. In addition, it imposes a maximum of three years and three months of confinement for the treatment of his disorder and up to one year of probation with the obligation to "undergo external treatment in a center". Nor will he be able to approach within 500 meters of the victim for 10 years.

A few weeks ago, the Court of Barcelona annulled the first sentence considering that the defenses of psychic alteration that had initially applied for the "erotic-manic" disorder to the defendant were not properly argued. The court considered it proven that Víctor subjected Bonet to harassment for more than three years, since July 2019, and repeatedly presented himself at the doors of the Barcelona workshop where he worked, in addition to persecuting her in presentations and public events.

The sentence recalls that "the clinical picture presented by the defendant totally affects his cognitive capacity" and "completely conditioned his will" which caused "difficulties to control his behavior." Thus, he details his defense that Victor should be controlled through treatment and medication. The court details that in the statement of the coroner in the trial this "atypical or deliroidal ideation" suffered by the defendant was pointed out as "a modality of personality disorder" of the "erotic-manic" type.

The lawyer of Víctor G.T., Sergi Mercè, saidthat it is an "acquittal" sentence and "does not impose any penalty", but that medical internment is "a security measure whose objective is the treatment of the disorder".

  • Barcelona
  • Ministry of Defence

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