Gran Canaria judge pushes Real Madrid defender's trial forward
A judge in Gran Canaria has rejected the defence’s appeals, confirming the investigation into a sexual‑content video involving four Real Madrid‑linked footballers and moving former first‑team defender Raúl Asencio a step closer to trial, scheduled to take place between 3 and 7 September.
The case, dubbed Estrella de Real Madrid, sees Asencio prosecuted for an alleged crime against privacy after he is accused of showing a video he received on his cell phone to a third party.
Unlike former youth players Ferrán Ruiz, Juan Rodríguez and Andrés García, Asencio is not accused of having recorded or originally disseminated the images, a distinction highlighted by the court.
The magistrate dismissed the defence’s request to nullify the case, rejecting arguments that the seizure of the phones was unlawful and that evidence obtained from them should be invalidated.
LA judge stressed that the Guardia Civil acted in accordance with the law and that the phones served both as a source of proof and as an instrument linked to the alleged offences.
The ruling also noted a concrete risk of evidence loss: the four accused backed up their cloud accounts before detention and later deleted the content, an act the court said could frustrate the investigation.
EN the preliminary hearing, Asencio’s defence presented the express forgiveness granted by the two young women involved, who have already been compensated. The judge clarified that this forgiveness may only affect the privacy‑related charge and will be evaluated when the complainants personally confirm it was given freely. The prosecution is seeking two and a half years’ imprisonment for Asencio on two privacy offences, but has indicated it will withdraw the accusation if the victims ratify the forgiveness during the trial.
For Ferrán Ruiz, Juan Rodríguez and Andrés García, the prosecution maintains a request for four years and seven months’ imprisonment for two privacy offences and an additional charge linked to the dissemination of child sexual‑abuse material.