Classes are over. Pablo rides his father’s car. They are returning home after leaving school in Cáceres. When you arrive at the garage, in the middle of the street, seven third-year ESO kids are waiting for you on the sidewalk. It’s three in the afternoon. Suddenly, the teens started insulting Pablo:
“Son of a bitch! You’re a faggot!”
The car brakes suddenly. Pablo’s father gets out of the car immediately. The minors, far from stopping their stance, continue to insult and stand up to him. In an arrogant and defiant tone, they insist:
– Oh, how scary, the father is coming.
Pablo’s father returns to the car. No, it doesn’t go into the garage. He starts and immediately goes to the national police station to file a complaint against these teenagers. This scene happened just over a year ago, on October 21, 2024.
This Wednesday, Extremadura newspaper He submitted the penalty, which was also seen by EL PAÍS. Four minors were sentenced for participation in a crime against morality, eight months of social and educational tasks and a ban on coming closer than 50 meters to Pablo. Not even at home. Not even at his school and not even in places I frequent. And no contact with him for a year. The sentence is final.
Pablo is not named Pablo, but this name was chosen to protect his privacy. His case was handled by the Cáceres Abogados Curbelo law firm. Lawyer Rafael Curbelo says on the phone that the minor’s father called him two weeks after he went to the police station. The sentence reflects the “total hell” that begins in 2021, when the children turn 11 and are in the same class at a school in Cáceres.
Three years of daily harassment
The proven facts contained in the ruling speak of “continuous daily harassment” for three years. In I, II and III of ESO. Through degrading, degrading and offensive taunts such as “Bald, son of a bitch, bald bastard, dirt on that bald man’s head, you are below normal, imbecile, gay, you are worthless, your father is going to die.”
They slapped him. Payment. Trips. This prompted the rest of his colleagues to respond by ignoring him. In this way he was also kicked out of the class WhatsApp group. They did not allow him to participate in team sports. And if he did, they would yell at him all the time about how bad it was.
I was isolated. Pablo, who is described as highly capable, has changed his attitude at home. I didn’t want to go to school. He asked his mother to come pick him up before school ended because of the distress he was suffering from. He spoke in court of “total hell.” The harassment was not just in the classroom. Also on exchanges. If he missed going to the bathroom, his school supplies were taken and hidden. I didn’t get it back until a few days later. They also blackmailed him. They asked him for money to return it.
During recess he had to interact with students younger than him. “However, as the proven facts of the ruling state, he was constantly receiving insults from the four minors.” Harassment also occurred outside of school. They were waiting for him to hit him. He told his mother to come get him.
The parents decided to change Pablo’s center for the 2024/2025 school year with the aim of stopping the harassment. This was not the case.
Last spring, every time the four little bullies met Pablo in the park, or with his new friends, and even with his grandparents, they addressed him “with the same insulting terms to humiliate him in front of his comrades.” Moreover, when they found out what new position he was going to, they were there waiting for him to “continue pestering them.” The last accident was on October 21, 2024, when Pablo and his father were driving home.
Now, a year later, Pablo is different. During the trial, according to his lawyer, he felt supported. He was able to defend himself. Explain what you have experienced during these three years. The four young molesters confessed to the facts. “He is in very good health,” the lawyer says. “He feels justice has been served.”
Phone 028 helps victims of homophobia, LGBT, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Also known as Rainbow Phone, it is an anonymous, free, confidential and accessible information and care service for victims of hate crimes and discrimination. In addition, you can contact by email (028-online@igualdad.gob.es) or Contact through online chat.