Criminal Lawyer for Sexual Assault in Mallorca and Ibiza
If you are looking for a sexual assault lawyer in Mallorca, Ibiza or Alicante, this page is for you. An accusation of this kind changes everything from the first minute. And if you do not speak Spanish, the feeling of helplessness multiplies. Here we explain how Spanish law treats this offence today, what happens during the proceedings, and why being able to speak to your lawyer in your own language is part of your defence.
What counts as sexual assault in Spain?
Since 2022 there is a single offence, known as agresión sexual. The former distinction between abuse and assault no longer exists.
The law punishes any act against another person’s sexual freedom without their consent. And consent is defined strictly. It exists only where it has been freely expressed through acts that clearly convey the person’s will.
This matters enormously in practice. The trial no longer turns on whether there was violence. It turns on whether there was consent and how it was expressed.
The rules changed twice in quick succession, with the 2022 reform and its 2023 correction. Establishing which version applies to a given set of facts, and which is more favourable, is one of the first technical questions in any case.
What sentences apply?
It depends on the specific act and on the circumstances involved. The range is very wide.
The basic offence carries one to four years in prison. Where violence or intimidation is used, one to five years.
Where there is penetration, Spanish law uses the term rape (violación) and the range rises to four to twelve years, or six to twelve where violence or intimidation was involved.
Several circumstances increase these figures substantially. Two or more people acting together. The use of weapons. Taking advantage of a position of authority or of living together. Or suppressing the victim’s will with drugs or medication.
There is also a route downwards. The court may reduce the sentence, giving reasons in the judgment, where the act is of lesser gravity and the personal circumstances justify it. It is not available in every case, but it is ground the defence must work from the outset.
What is the difference between sexual assault and sexual harassment?
They are separate offences with very different penalties.
Sexual assault requires an act against sexual freedom without consent. Sexual harassment (acoso sexual) covers requests for sexual favours within an employment, educational or service relationship, where this creates an objectively intimidating situation.
The initial classification made in the complaint or the police report is not final. A large part of defence work consists precisely of fitting the facts to the offence that actually applies.
What happens after a complaint is filed?
The first few days shape everything that follows. And they are usually the worst.
Arrest and appearance before the investigating judge within a maximum of seventy-two hours is common. At that hearing the judge decides on remand in custody (prisión provisional) or on less restrictive measures.
A restraining order and a ban on contacting the complainant are almost always imposed. You need to understand their exact scope, because breaching them is a separate criminal offence and makes everything worse.
The investigation phase follows, with forensic reports, biological analysis, examination of phones and messages, CCTV and witnesses.
I have been reported in Mallorca and my flight leaves tomorrow
Do not board that flight without speaking to a lawyer first. And call today, not tomorrow.
If a complaint has been filed, there may already be a summons, a pending arrest or a measure preventing you from leaving the country. Departing without knowing this can turn an ordinary summons into an arrest warrant.
If nothing has been ordered yet, a lawyer can appear on your behalf, demonstrate your willingness to cooperate, provide an address for service and request permission for you to return home while the case proceeds. Handled in time, this saves months of being stuck here.
It happened in a hotel in Palma or Ibiza. Does that change anything?
It changes the evidence, which in these cases is almost everything.
Hotels have cameras in communal areas, electronic key-card access logs, security staff and incident reports. All of that can establish times, movements and company with a precision no witness statement can match.
The problem is time. Recordings are deleted after very short periods, sometimes within days. If their preservation is not requested immediately, that evidence is gone for good.
The same applies to clubs, bars and transport operators. Acting within the first forty-eight hours can decide the case.
What if it happened on a boat or a cruise ship?
This arises frequently in the Balearics and is legally more complex.
Jurisdiction depends on the exact location, the flag of the vessel and the port of call. An incident in port is not the same as one in Spanish territorial waters or on the high seas.
These points are raised at the beginning or they are lost. Establishing which court has jurisdiction, and whether Spain has it at all, is one of the first checks the defence must carry out.
I work a season in Ibiza. What happens to my job?
Ongoing criminal proceedings do not automatically cost you your job, but in practice they affect it.
Where the complaint comes from the workplace, employers commonly take internal measures. And if a restraining order is imposed in relation to a colleague, complying with it may be impossible without changing role or shift.
Anticipate this with your lawyer and raise it before the court, because the scope of such measures can be adjusted.
Can the complainant withdraw the complaint?
No. This is by far the most common question, and the answer surprises almost everyone.
Sexual offences are public offences in Spain. Once the matter reaches court, proceedings continue even if the complainant changes her mind, no longer wishes to pursue it, or states that it was all a misunderstanding.
The public prosecutor can maintain the charge alone. Withdrawal closes nothing, although it is a factor the court weighs within the evidence as a whole.
There is a narrow exception. Certain relatives and partners may rely on a statutory right not to testify. Its requirements and limits are technical and have been considerably restricted by case law.
What if we had both been drinking or taking drugs?
This is one of the most frequent and most delicate scenarios. There is no single answer.
The law treats as sexual assault any act carried out on a person deprived of their senses or whose will has been suppressed for any reason. That is why the complainant’s level of intoxication is usually the centre of the expert debate.
However, being drunk is not the same as being deprived of one’s senses. There is a legal line between disinhibition and suppression of the will, and it is argued through medical reports, witnesses, images and objective data from that night.
The defendant’s own intoxication is assessed on a different footing, that of his own criminal responsibility, and may operate as a mitigating factor in certain conditions.
What is drug-facilitated assault and how is it proved?
It means suppressing a person’s will using drugs, medication or other substances, what is commonly called spiking. Where established, it increases the sentence considerably.
It is proved through laboratory analysis. That is precisely the point of attack, because many of these substances leave the body within hours, which makes the exact time of sampling decisive.
The defence must examine the whole chain. When the sample was taken, who held it, how it was stored, which laboratory analysed it and what margin of error applies. A break in that chain can render the evidence unusable.
The police examined my phone. Is that lawful?
It depends how they did it. And it is one of the most productive areas for the defence.
Accessing the contents of a phone engages fundamental rights. Without valid consent from the owner, it requires a reasoned judicial authorisation, with a clearly defined scope and compliance with the rules on extraction and custody of the data.
If that basis was missing, or if the access extended to material unrelated to the investigation, its validity can be challenged, and with it everything derived from it.
Which court deals with the case in Mallorca or Ibiza?
It depends on who the complainant is and what relationship she had with the accused.
Where there is or was a partner relationship, the matter normally falls to the court specialising in violence against women. In all other cases it is investigated by the ordinary investigating court for the place where the events occurred.
The Spanish court system has recently been restructured, so the names of these bodies have changed. What matters to you is not the name but the principle. The case is heard where the events are alleged to have taken place. If the complaint was filed in Ibiza, the case proceeds in Ibiza, even if you live in the United Kingdom.
How long do these proceedings take?
Far longer than most people expect. More than a year between complaint and trial is normal, and more than two is not unusual.
The investigation requires forensic and expert reports, witness evidence and analysis of devices. Then comes the intermediate phase, in which the charges are formulated. Finally the trial date, which depends on the court’s workload.
That wait is exhausting, but it also works in your favour. It allows the defence to be prepared carefully, evidence to be gathered and personal circumstances to be documented that will count later in the judgment.
I live abroad. Do I have to stay in Spain?
Not necessarily. It depends on the precautionary measures imposed.
The most common are surrender of the passport, a ban on leaving Spanish territory, or an obligation to report to the court at regular intervals. Any of these completely disrupts the life of someone who does not live here.
These measures can be challenged and modified. You can request their replacement with less restrictive ones, offer security, or evidence a stable connection to the proceedings. Specific permissions to travel can also be sought.
And there is an option many people are unaware of. For certain steps, appearance by video link or representation through your lawyer is possible, without travelling to Spain each time.
Can I be tried in my absence?
As a general rule, no. The presence of the accused at trial is the norm for serious offences.
If the accused fails to appear and cannot be located, proceedings may be suspended and a search warrant issued. If he is in another EU country, a European Arrest Warrant may follow.
Disappearing is therefore never a solution. It turns a manageable legal problem into a permanent personal one, with a warrant that appears at every border control for years.
I have already left Spain and received a summons
Respond to it, always. Ignoring a Spanish court summons from abroad is the worst possible course.
A lawyer can enter an appearance on your behalf, establish exactly where the case stands and organise your attendance in the least burdensome way. In many cases an unnecessary trip can be avoided and, above all, the court will not read your absence as flight.
If a warrant already exists, there is still room to act. Its review can be requested, voluntary surrender can be offered and the terms of your appearance negotiated.
Can the case end without a trial?
Yes, in several different ways.
It can be dismissed during the investigation if there is insufficient evidence. It can end by agreement with the prosecution, known as conformidad, with an agreed sentence. Or it can go to trial and end in acquittal.
A conformidad is not always in your interest and should never be treated as a quick way out. In certain scenarios, however, it avoids a far worse outcome. That decision requires a cold assessment of the evidence and must be taken by the client on full information.
Why do you need a specialist sexual assault lawyer?
Because the evidence in these proceedings is unlike that in any other offence.
In many cases there are no witnesses. The complainant’s testimony may be the principal evidence. Spanish courts assess it against strict and settled criteria, examining whether there is prior hostility or self-interest, whether the account is credible and corroborated by external data, and whether it has remained consistent over time.
Working with those criteria takes technique. Statements must be compared, inconsistencies identified, timelines cross-checked, and messages before and after the events reviewed.
The same applies to scientific evidence. Medical and biological reports, the chain of custody of samples and substance analysis must each be examined. A procedural error can change the outcome of the trial.
Language is part of your defence
Criminal trials are won on nuance. And nuance is lost in translation.
Spanish law guarantees a free interpreter for court proceedings. That is essential and it works. But it only covers what happens inside the courtroom.
The defence is prepared outside it. In long meetings, reconstructing a night hour by hour. What exactly was said, in what tone, in which words. Where the line falls between a gesture and a suggestion.
None of that works through an interpreter brought in for the occasion. When a client speaks directly to his lawyer in his own language, he says more and says it better. In an offence decided on detail, that is what tips the balance.
There is also a human dimension. Being held in a country whose language you do not speak, unable to understand what is said to you, is an isolation few can imagine. Being able to explain yourself and be understood changes how you face the whole process.
Is an interpreter enough, or do I need an English-speaking lawyer?
The interpreter covers the hearing. The lawyer who speaks your language covers the defence.
An interpreter translates words, not context. He has not read the file, has not analysed the evidence and cannot warn you of the consequences of an answer before you give it.
When the lawyer running your case speaks to you directly, information flows without filters and without loss. You understand your position and he understands your account.
British and Irish clients in the Balearics: a particular context
In Mallorca, Ibiza and along the Alicante coast, many of these cases involve people who do not live in Spain.
That adds further layers. A surrendered passport preventing you from going home. An obligation to attend a court hundreds of miles away. Liaison with the consulate. Consequences for residence rights or future travel.
Questions of international judicial cooperation also arise, including extradition, European Arrest Warrants and the transfer of enforcement to your home country. These must be handled confidently from day one.
Consequences beyond the sentence
Sexual offence proceedings have effects many people only discover once they hit.
A final conviction entails registration in the Spanish central register of sexual offenders. That closes off any work or activity involving regular contact with minors.
It may also affect residence rights for non-nationals. And it usually carries professional, family and sometimes media consequences, often before any judgment exists.
The strategy therefore cannot be confined to the courtroom.
What to do and what never to do if you are accused
Do not give a statement before speaking to your lawyer in private. That conversation is your right and it is confidential.
Do not contact the complainant under any circumstances. Not directly and not through friends or family. Not even if you believe a conversation would clear everything up. It is the most serious and the most frequent mistake.
Do not delete messages, photos or chats. Not even those that seem damaging. Very often they are exactly what supports the defence account, and their disappearance is always read against you.
Do preserve everything. Chats, receipts, location data, photographs, names of those present. And write down your own account of events as soon as possible, with times and details, while your memory is fresh.
What if you are the victim?
We also act for complainants, through what Spanish law calls acusación particular.
Reporting a sexual offence is hard and the process can feel hostile. Having your own lawyer means you do not depend solely on the pace of the public prosecutor. You can request evidence, take part in every step, apply for protective measures and claim compensation.
Language matters here just as much. Describing what happened in a language that is not your own, to strangers, is harder still.
What does this kind of defence cost?
It depends on the stage of the case and its complexity. There is no flat rate, and be wary of anyone who quotes one over the phone without knowing your case.
Our approach is straightforward. We first assess your situation, explain what work is required, and provide a fixed written fee before taking the case on. No surprises later.
Sexual assault lawyer in Mallorca, Ibiza, Alicante and Madrid
Fechenbach Abogados is a criminal defence firm with offices in Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza, Alicante and Madrid. We act throughout Spain.
We deal with you directly in English, with no intermediary. We also work in Spanish, German and Polish.
Alongside criminal defence, we have experience in extradition and European Arrest Warrant proceedings, which are precisely the issues that arise once a case crosses borders.
Speak to a sexual assault lawyer
Have you been reported or arrested for a sexual offence in Mallorca, Ibiza or Alicante? Get in touch.
We will tell you clearly where you stand, what happens next and what options you have. In English, without evasion and in complete confidence.
