15 May 2025, 12:16
Raul Asencio faces prosecution over an alleged child sex scandal at the Spanish club
Raul Asencio faces prosecution over an alleged child sex scandal at the Spanish club. Picture: Alamy
By StephenRigley
Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio could face criminal proceedings for allegedly sharing a sex tape involving a minor.
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The 22-year-old footballer allegedly solicited a video filmed by team-mates Ferran Ruiz, Andres Garcia and Juan Rodriguez in June, 2023, involving a minor and another young girl, aged 16 and 18 respectively at the time.
The players are accused of "disclosure of secrets without consent, and violation of privacy, distributing and sending videos to third parties without consent, capturing and using minors for pornographic purposes and possession of child pornography".
The highly-rated Spanish defender has played 22 games for Carlo Ancelotti's side this season
The highly-rated Spanish defender has played 22 games for Carlo Ancelotti's side this season. Picture: Alamy
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Asencio and the three other players were arrested at Real Madrid's training centre in September 2023 following a complaint lodged by the mother of the 16-year-old girl who appears in the video.
At the time, it was reported by Spanish media that one of the footballers had recorded a consensual sexual encounter with the young girl before sending the video to the other players without her consent.
This season Asencio has established himself as a first-team regular. Fans at various stadiums around Spain have jeered Asencio, with some Barcelona fans chanting 'Asencio, to jail' during the Clasico on Sunday.
Real Madrid's Copa del Rey semi-final win at Real Sociedad in February was briefly paused by the referee after home fans chanted 'Asencio die'.
According to the court ruling, both women show symptoms consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder, Spanish sports outlet AS reported.
The judge at the Gran Canaria High Court said there was enough evidence to support allegations of violation of privacy, distribution of videos to third parties without the victims' knowledge or consent, solicitation of a minor for pornographic purposes and possession of child pornography.
Article 197 of Spain's Criminal Code states that any individual convicted of recording and sharing an explicit video of a minor will face between three-and-a-half and five years in prison.
This would drop to a two-and-a-half to four-year prison sentence if found guilty of non-consensual recording.If Asencio is culpable of only sharing the video the sentence would be expected to be less severe.
Asencio tried to have his part in the case dismissed in February by appealing to end the investigation into his alleged role, however the judge decided to uphold the decision to move ahead with the inquiry.
Asencio has made 21 La Liga appearances for Madrid this season while Ruiz, Rodriguez and Garcia, former youth team-mates of Asencio, all left the club last summer.
Ruiz moved to Girona and the club’s sporting director, Quique Carcel, said in November, “I respect the presumption of innocence,” in relation to the investigation. Rodriguez and Garcia joined teams in Spain’s third tier (Tarazona and Alcorcon).
Both Real Madrid and Asencio’s representatives declined to comment.