Santi Mina’s four-year prison sentence for sexual assault upheld

Santi Mina’s hopes of avoiding prison have been ended after Spain’s Supreme Court upheld his four-year sentence for sexually assaulting a woman in 2017.

The former footballer was convicted over an incident in July 2017 involving a woman in a parked van near a nightclub in Mojacar, Almeria. Mina was staying in the area and travelling with friends at the time.

The Supreme Court’s criminal chamber rejected Mina’s appeal against a ruling by the High Court of Justice of Andalusia. That court had confirmed the prison sentence originally issued by Almeria Provincial Court, while reducing the compensation awarded to the victim from €50,000 to €25,000.

In its judgment, the Supreme Court said Mina had taken advantage of the woman’s proximity and the element of surprise created by the situation.

“The accused took advantage of the victim’s proximity and the surprise of the situation in which she found herself to commit two non-consensual sexual acts,” the court said. “He stopped his actions when he realised that continuing would require overcoming her opposition by force.”

The court said there was no evidence that Mina had received consent which he had misunderstood.

“The case contains no information indicating that Santiago Mina misunderstood a statement of consent, nor does it necessarily allow such a mistaken interpretation to be inferred from the established circumstances,” it added.

The court also rejected an appeal by the victim, who had sought a conviction carrying an eight-year prison sentence, together with a further six years as an additional punishment.

Celta Vigo, the last club Mina played for, unilaterally terminated his contract in August 2023. The agreement still had two years to run at that point.

Mina, who came through Celta Vigo’s system, represented Spain at several youth levels, from the under-18s through to the Under-21 side. He never played for the senior Spain national team.