The Civil Guard has arrested a man who allegedly acted as a false sports actor, exploiting him to commit serious crimes of sexual assault and corruption of minors, bringing the number of victims to 61, all minors, in Las Palmas, although the Armed Forces did not specify where this person was being held, nor where the victims mainly belonged.
The investigation, dubbed “The Fake Director,” identified 61 victims who had not previously filed a complaint, with the detainee having intimate relationships with some of them in certain cases, the Civil Guard said in a press release.
This is the result of the investigation that began in December 2024, after one of the victims revealed, with psychological support, the abuse he had been subjected to, a testimony that they stressed “was decisive” because “none” of the other minors had reported it before.
From that moment, after collecting the first evidence of the events of March 2025, corresponding procedures began to clarify what happened, conducting a comprehensive analysis of the content of the mobile phone seized from the detainee and obtaining multiple statements from both victims and witnesses.
The man now in custody, identified among the minors under the moniker, was operating in a “highly planned and organised” manner. Specifically, he behaved in the digital environment, as sex offenders often do online, and used emotional manipulation techniques to obtain sexual content material and promote face-to-face encounters, which he did on several occasions.
The detainee combined two “particularly effective” methods of deception, because, on the one hand, he used his identity as a supposed sports director – although without indicating any specialty -, presenting himself as a professional with connections and offering false promotion opportunities to minors, such as trials in high-performance clubs, inclusion in professional databases or publication of their profiles on specialized networks.
But these promises became a tool of manipulation to generate a debt of gratitude that led to sexual favors, including requesting pornography or arranging intimate encounters.
On the other hand, he used false female identities to expand his reach and reduce the suspicions of young men. Through these social media profiles, he gradually introduced conversations with sexual content, requested intimate photos, and sent pornographic materials, all with the aim of normalizing these behaviors.
Victims reported that he repeatedly insisted on discussing sexual topics and requested explicit photos. Moreover, he took advantage of his clear position as a sports representative to exercise control over minors, who obeyed his instructions without being held accountable, even when they deviated from the purely sporting field.
Manage fake profiles
Investigators also revealed the existence of fake profiles run by the detainee to attract new victims, offering money in exchange for sexual acts.
During the investigations, the Civil Guard confirmed that the detainee did not adhere to the judicial procedures imposed after his first arrest, as although he was prohibited from carrying out activities related to minors, he organized a sports trip in which many of them participated.
In this way, after presenting the facts to the judicial authority, he was arrested again on November 12, and an immediate detention order was issued for violating the precautionary measures.
Likewise, within the framework of this new procedure, a home inspection was carried out which allowed agents to seize new items of interest, which are currently undergoing analysis.
They point out that the facts are exacerbated by the abuse of a position of trust and power, even though the mere recruitment of minors for sexual purposes already constitutes a violation of their sexual freedom and compensation, “which fully justifies criminal intervention.”
The Civil Guard confirms that this operation highlights the importance of educating families and minors about the dangers of what is called “grooming,” which is deliberate manipulation by an adult to gain the trust of a minor for the purposes of sexual assault.
In this case, the danger of the detainee lies not only in his ability to deceive and persuade, but also in his failure to comply with the judicial authority by continuing his activities during his investigation.
The proceedings were carried out by the Judicial Police team of the neighborhood and she was sent to the Court of Inquiry as Guardian of San Bartolomé de Tirajana (Gran Canaria).