Raúl Asencio Faces Sexual Video Trial Awaiting Victims' Pardon

Raúl Asencio, a Real Madrid defender, goes on trial from Thursday over a sexual video that three of his former academy teammates allegedly recorded with two young women, aged 17 and 18, in Gran Canaria. The Canary Islands-born player still faces a prosecutorial request of two and a half years in prison for two privacy crimes, although the Public Prosecutor's Office has already indicated it will withdraw that sentence if the two women confirm in court that they have pardoned him, as they previously stated during the investigation.

• Raúl Asencio faces a prosecutorial request of two and a half years in prison for two privacy crimes.
• The prosecutor will drop the charge if the two women confirm their pardon in court.
• The victims' pardon extinguishes criminal liability because the offense is semi-public under Spanish law.
• The other three defendants, Ferrán Ruiz, Juan Rodríguez and Andrés García, face four years and seven months in prison.
• The trial takes place in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with sessions on April 3, 4 and 7.

What the Victims' Pardon Means for Raúl Asencio

The crime attributed to Asencio is classified as semi-public under the Spanish Penal Code. This means that criminal liability disappears if the offended party grants a pardon. In this case, the two women affected had already withdrawn their private accusations against the Real Madrid player after receiving an undisclosed compensation and a formal apology from him.

However, that agreement was reached at the end of the investigation phase. The prosecutor therefore demanded that the pardon should not be limited to a notarial act, as the defense had requested, but should be formalized during the oral trial. The court must verify that the two young women are granting the pardon consciously and freely, without hidden pressures or conditions.

The Events of Summer 2023 at a Beach Club in Amadores

The events at the center of this case took place in the summer of 2023 at a beach club in Amadores, in the south of Gran Canaria. Three of Asencio's teammates at the time in the Real Madrid academy —Ferrán Ruiz, Juan Rodríguez and Andrés García— had a fully consensual sexual encounter with two young women, one of whom was underage.

The problem arose because they also took videos and photographs of the encounter, allegedly without the women's permission. According to the accusations, they then shared those images via WhatsApp with several people even though the women asked them to delete them. One of those videos reached Asencio's mobile phone, and he is accused of showing it to a third person, knowing it had been recorded without consent and that the victims had demanded its removal.

The Other Three Defendants Face a Longer Sentence

The procedural situation of Ruiz, Rodríguez and García is more complex than Asencio's. It has not been disclosed whether their defenses have also sought the victims' pardon, but even if they obtained it, it would only free them from the less serious charge. The prosecution is also charging them with a child pornography offense for recording and distributing sexual images of a minor, a charge in which the law does not allow the victim's pardon. With or without it, conviction stands if there is sufficient evidence.

Defense sources do not rule out that the trial may not even take place in full. The possibility remains open for the three defendants to reach a plea agreement with the prosecution and the private accusations, pleading guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence. If no deal is reached, they face a prosecutorial request of four years and seven months in prison.

When and Where the Asencio Case Trial Takes Place

The hearing begins at 9.00 a.m. in Courtroom Number 5 of the Criminal Section of the Instance Court of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Three sessions are scheduled: Thursday April 3, Friday April 4 and Monday April 7. None of the four defendants is expected to appear in person at the Ciudad de la Justicia in the Gran Canaria capital, since the judge has authorized them to participate by video conference.

What Is at Stake for Raúl Asencio in This Oral Trial

The Real Madrid defender, who has established himself in the first team this season, is playing for both his legal situation and his public image in this process. The withdrawal of the prosecution's sentencing request depends on the victims ratifying in court the pardon they already expressed during the investigation. If confirmed, Asencio would be cleared of criminal liability for the privacy offenses.

His defense has been working on that outcome for months with the legal representatives of the two women, who withdrew their private accusations after receiving compensation and a formal apology from the player. The strategy is aimed at closing the case without a conviction, but the final decision belongs to the court, which must validate that the pardon is granted voluntarily and with full awareness of its consequences.