Family member held for child sex abuse

GUARDIA CIVIL officers in Roquetas de Mar have arrested a man accused of sexually abusing two children.

Officers were alerted to the abuse by the mother of the victims who noticed that her 15-year-old daughter was behaving strangely. When questioned, the daughter initially denied that there was anything wrong. However, after some pressure she claimed she had been repeatedly abused by a family member for a year-and-a-half when she was 13. The abuse was predominantly physical touching, although penetration had also occurred, she alleged.

The mother then approached her other daughter (now aged 20), who said that she too had been abused by the same family member for a period of three years.

Both girls alleged that the abuse took place in the family home. The accused is a cousin of the girls’ father who had been a regular visitor to the home, often staying overnight.

The parents are said to be distraught by the discovery and claim they were unaware of the abuse that was occurring in their own home.

The girls had reportedly not told their parents about the abuse through fear and shame.