Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
A former karate teacher convicted in Barcelona of sexually abusing five minors has died by suicide in Brians 1 prison, near Sant Esteve Sesrovires, just days after accepting a 26-year-and-six-month sentence.
The man was found in his cell during the morning headcount on Thursday, according to reports citing prison sources. Emergency teams were called, but he could not be saved.
The case had only reached court this week. On Tuesday, he admitted the offences before the Barcelona Provincial Court and agreed a deal that ended with a prison sentence for three counts of sexual abuse and two counts of continued sexual assault against children under 16.
He had been held on remand since his arrest in May 2023. Reports also said he had made a bank transfer of the €140,000 compensation agreed for the victims before the sentence was finalised.
Prison sources quoted by Spanish media said he was not being monitored under the prison service’s suicide prevention programme.
Abuse case linked to Barcelona gyms
The offences were said to have taken place between 2015 and 2023 at sports facilities in Barcelona, where he worked as a martial arts instructor. Reports say the victims were five boys and teenagers who had been his students.
Investigators later searched the sports centre and his home, where they allegedly found pornographic material and recordings of the assaults. Those details were included in court coverage of the case, although the material was not reported to have been distributed.
The defendant had already been convicted in 2000 for a separate sexual offence, according to the same reports.
Brians 1 is one of the main prison facilities in Catalonia and has been the focus of other recent scrutiny over inmate safety and suicide prevention measures.
