Real Madrid defender Asensio among four to face September trial in Spain sex video case

A Spanish judge has ordered Real Madrid defender Raul Asensio and three former youth players of the club to stand trial in September over an alleged sex video involving a minor, after rejecting a request to dismiss the case and attempts to exclude key phone evidence.

The ruling from Criminal Court No. 5 in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria refused all applications from the defence, including challenges to the seizure of mobile phones and the admissibility of data taken from them, according to Spanish newspaper Marca.

Former Real Madrid youth players Ferran Ruiz, Juan Rodriguez and Andres Garcia are accused of recording and distributing a sexual encounter with two young women in southern Gran Canaria in 2023 without their consent, while allegedly knowing that one of them was underage. They also face charges of possessing child pornography and violating privacy.

Asensio, a first‐team defender at Real Madrid, is not alleged to have taken part in the recording. Prosecutors claim he committed a privacy offence by showing the video to a third party after it was sent to his phone.

Judge backs legality of phone searches

In his decision issued on Thursday, the judge dismissed defence arguments that the mobile phones were unlawfully seized and that all evidence obtained from them should therefore be void.

The ruling states that Andres Garcia “spontaneously” admitted his involvement in filming the encounter when he was initially summoned to testify as a witness before the Guardia Civil. Investigators then halted his witness statement and reclassified him as a suspect, ensuring he was accompanied by a lawyer.

The judge concluded that the Guardia Civil had acted within the law and that the phones served both as sources of evidence and as instruments of the alleged offences. Under Spanish law, he said, the consent of the owner is not required for the devices to be confiscated.

He also underlined what he described as a “real risk” that evidence could disappear, noting that all four defendants had created backups of their accounts and deleted content before being arrested. The ruling characterises those actions as an attempt to hinder the investigation by removing potential digital traces.

The court likewise rejected an appeal against the recording of a telephone conversation between one of the alleged victims and Asensio. Citing case law, the judge said Spain’s Supreme Court allows such recordings to be used as admissible evidence in criminal proceedings.

Partial pardon for Asensio under scrutiny

The judge’s order also addresses a pardon granted by the two young women to Asensio after they received financial compensation.

He ruled that this forgiveness applies only to the privacy‐violation allegation directed at the Real Madrid defender and has no bearing on the separate child pornography charges facing Ruiz, Rodriguez and Garcia.

The court will still examine whether the pardon was given freely. The judge scheduled that issue to be tested during the main hearings, which are set to take place on 3, 4 and 7 September.

Prosecution seeking prison terms

The public prosecutor is asking for prison sentences of four years and seven months for Ruiz, Rodriguez and Garcia if they are found guilty of the offences relating to recording, distributing the video, child pornography and breach of privacy.

For Asensio, the prosecution is seeking a sentence of two and a half years in prison over the alleged violation of privacy.

However, prosecutors have indicated they are prepared to request a reduced sentence for the Real Madrid defender if, during the trial, both alleged victims confirm directly before the court that they forgive him.

The case will now move to full trial in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, where all four defendants will formally respond to the charges for the first time in open court.