Raul Asencio cleared in sexual video case as three former Real Madrid team-mates sentenced

Raul Asencio has been acquitted in a case involving allegations that a sexual video featuring a minor was shared without consent.

The Real Madrid player was cleared on Thursday after Spain’s public prosecutor withdrew all charges against him, including allegations that he had distributed the video without permission and shared sexual material involving a minor.

Asencio had been ordered to stand trial in July despite the two alleged victims withdrawing their complaints against him.

He appeared in court alongside three former team-mates from Real Madrid’s youth set-up: Ferran Ruiz, Juan Rodriguez and Andres Garcia. All three were found guilty of recording and distributing videos of a sexual nature involving a girl aged under 16. They were also convicted over equivalent offences involving an 18-year-old woman.

Each of the three men was sentenced to one year in prison. The sentences were suspended on the condition that they do not commit another offence during that period.

They were also given restraining orders preventing them from approaching either victim for two years. In addition, they have been banned from working in professions involving contact with minors for three years.

The verdict was delivered after the judge heard evidence from the two victims, who told the court they had “forgiven the defendants”.

The case centres on the filming of a sexual encounter in a private area of a beach club in the Canary Islands in June 2023. It also involved allegations that recordings of the encounter were later distributed without the victims’ consent.

Asencio was never accused of taking part in the encounter or of recording it. However, prosecutors alleged that he requested copies of the videos and showed them to another friend.

He had been charged under Article 197 of Spain’s criminal code, which covers offences relating to privacy, including the disclosure of images recorded without consent and the transmission of such material to third parties.

In August last year, the public prosecutor’s office had sought a sentence of two years and six months in prison for Asencio. It also requested prison sentences for the three other men.

A summary of the case provided by prosecutors to The Athletic said the two victims had suffered post-traumatic stress disorder as a result of the events.

The decision means Asencio avoids a conviction, while Ruiz, Rodriguez and Garcia remain subject to suspended prison terms and the additional restrictions imposed by the court.