Private Prosecution Lawyer · Sexual Offence Victims

Private Prosecution: Procedural Position

At Alonso Sala we also act for victims of sexual offences as private prosecution, a procedural role that allows the injured party to intervene actively in the criminal proceedings with full rights. The private prosecution enables the injured or offended party to become a prosecuting party with full procedural capacity: proposing investigative steps, intervening in statements, filing the indictment, proposing and taking evidence at trial, characterising the facts, requesting the penalties and pursuing civil liability. Alongside the Public Prosecutor (public prosecution), the private prosecution brings the victim's direct perspective and frequently greater depth to the investigation.

The Victim Statute and Specific Rights

The Statute of the Victim of Crime (Law 4/2015), which transposed Directive 2012/29/EU, recognises a broad catalogue of rights: the right to information from the first contact with the authorities; the right to protection of the person, privacy and dignity; the right to avoid contact with the offender; the right to legal assistance and to translation and interpretation; the right to active participation in the proceedings; the right to protection against secondary victimisation; and, specifically in sexual offences, the right to free legal assistance regardless of means under LO 10/2022. LO 10/2022 reinforced specific rights for victims of sexual offences: universal free legal assistance; integrated support through crisis centres; mandatory pre-recorded evidence for minors and persons with disabilities; protection against secondary victimisation with limits on questioning about prior sexual conduct; and integration with public support resources.

Civil Liability and Reparation

The private prosecution allows a claim for civil liability ex delicto (Art. 116 CP): restitution, reparation and compensation. In sexual offences, compensation usually includes moral harm, proven psychological after-effects established by expert evidence, medical and therapeutic costs, loss of earnings arising from incapacity for work, any aesthetic harm and other heads of loss. The claim may be directed against the perpetrator and, subsidiarily, against civil liability parties (entities, insurers, premises owners). It coordinates with the Public Prosecutor, who exercises the public prosecution; the parties may converge or diverge, and the accusatory principle requires that the conviction not exceed the prosecution's claims.

Strategy for Defending the Victim

We act for the victim from the outset: advice prior to the complaint; legal assistance at the first statement; careful preparation of statements to minimise secondary victimisation; coordination with psychological and forensic experts; requesting and monitoring precautionary measures; thorough trial preparation; appealing unfavourable decisions; and enforcing the judgment to recover compensation. We act before the Investigating Courts, the Courts on Violence Against Women, the Criminal Courts, the Provincial Courts and the Prison Supervision Courts at the enforcement stage.