A Spanish man has been sentenced to six years in prison by a court in Seville for forcing his wife into prostitution to fund his drug habit and settle his debts.
A climate of intimidation and control
The unnamed man prostituted his wife for years, the court heard last Friday. He created a climate of intimidation and control through regular physical assaults and by drugging his partner.
In one particularly disturbing incident, the man filmed his wife having sex with one of his friends. That friend was also convicted and received a two-year prison sentence for sexual assault.
Plea agreement reduces potential sentence
The perpetrator was initially facing up to 30 years behind bars for multiple crimes committed against both his wife and his daughter. However, the case was resolved through a plea agreement.
As part of the deal, the man was ordered to pay his wife 12,000 euros in compensation. Judges also imposed a restraining order, banning him from any contact with the victim.
Echoes of a French horror case
The shocking details of this case have drawn immediate comparisons to the high-profile trial of Dominique Pelicot in France. Pelicot was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year for orchestrating the rape of his wife, Gisele, by dozens of men over nearly a decade.
Dominique Pelicot would drug his wife unconscious and offer her to strangers he met online, filming the assaults. All 50 of his co-defendants were found guilty, with sentences ranging from three to 15 years.
Gisele Pelicot's courage in opposing a closed hearing inspired campaigners against sexual violence and spurred a national conversation about rape culture in France. The evidence included stomach-churning homemade videos of the assaults.
The Seville case, while resolved with a shorter sentence, highlights the persistent and horrific reality of coercive control and sexual exploitation within domestic settings.
