EBAN Abogados provides criminal law assistance and representation from its Fuenlabrada office, acting both in the defence of persons under investigation or facing criminal charges and on behalf of victims and injured parties through private prosecution.
Our criminal law practice in Fuenlabrada has developed from real cases. Gender-based violence and violence within the family, assault and bodily harm, threats and coercion, offences involving homes and property, fraud and identity theft, road traffic offences, proceedings involving controlled substances, and situations in which the criminal matter is directly connected with family proceedings or with the immigration status of one of the parties.
We do not intend to draw a map of crime in Fuenlabrada or suggest that some offences are statistically more common than others. We are simply describing the types of cases we encounter in our professional practice and the way in which we approach them.
More information about our general practice is available on our Criminal Law page.
Criminal law in Fuenlabrada: defence and private prosecution
The work of a criminal lawyer changes substantially depending on the client’s position in the proceedings.
A person who has been reported or accused needs to know precisely what conduct is being attributed to them, what evidence exists, what consequences the proceedings may have, and what strategy should be followed from the earliest stages.
A person who has suffered a criminal offence needs to determine what can be proved, what investigative measures should be requested, and how they can participate actively in the proceedings in order to protect their interests and, where appropriate, claim compensation for the harm suffered.
At EBAN Abogados, we work from both perspectives.
This experience allows us to analyse criminal proceedings without starting from preconceived positions. A criminal complaint is the beginning of an investigation, not a conviction. Likewise, the fact that a person is under investigation does not mean that the complaint against them is necessarily unfounded.
In criminal law, the facts, the evidence and the correct application of the law matter.
Gender-based violence, family violence and relationship conflicts
A significant part of the criminal cases we have handled in Fuenlabrada arises from deteriorated family or intimate relationships.
We have acted in proceedings involving abuse, assault, threats and coercion, both within and outside the specific legal framework of gender-based violence.
The reality of these conflicts is often considerably more complex than a simple legal classification.
There may be a relationship breakdown, children in common, disputes concerning custody or contact arrangements, problems over the use of the family home, involvement by relatives, and the appearance of new partners. Sometimes a conflict initially limited to two people gradually extends to those around them.
We also encounter situations in which different individuals become both complainants and accused persons at the same time. An argument may lead to mutual allegations of assault or to parallel proceedings in which it becomes essential to reconstruct carefully what each person did and when.
When personal conflict results in physical injury
Threats and coercion are not the only possible consequences of a deteriorating relationship. Some conflicts result in physical injuries and, on occasion, in conduct of considerable seriousness.
The consequences do not necessarily end with the criminal proceedings.
A conviction for violence, or the existence of certain serious incidents, may subsequently affect questions of child custody, contact arrangements, communication with children or the use of supervised Family Contact Centres.
We have acted, for example, in family proceedings in which there was a history of serious violence between the parents and the issue was no longer whether criminal responsibility existed, but rather under what conditions the relationship between one parent and the children could be maintained, restricted or gradually rebuilt.
These situations illustrate why Criminal Law and Family Law cannot always be treated as completely separate areas.
Reporting criminal conduct when appropriate
Where conduct has sufficient criminal significance, reporting it to the Police may be necessary.
An assault, serious threats, coercion or an objective situation of risk should not be trivialised. Police intervention makes it possible to document the events and, where appropriate, activate the legal mechanisms designed to protect those affected.
At the same time, we do not consider it advisable to turn every incident arising from a highly conflictual relationship automatically into criminal proceedings.
There is a difference between documenting conduct that may genuinely constitute a criminal offence and transferring every argument, message, gesture or disagreement arising during a separation into the criminal courts.
Criminal law is a powerful legal instrument. Its use should be proportionate to the seriousness of the conduct concerned.
Criminal proceedings should not be used as a tactical instrument
In family disputes, a criminal complaint may have indirect consequences for proceedings concerning custody, contact arrangements or other family measures.
This does not mean that a complaint is inappropriate when criminal conduct has genuinely occurred. If conduct may constitute an offence, it must be possible to report it and have it assessed by the competent authorities.
What we do not consider appropriate is the deliberate use of the criminal courts as a procedural positioning tool, whether to shift an essentially family dispute artificially to the specialised courts dealing with violence against women or to attempt to obtain an indirect advantage in civil proceedings.
The existence of protective mechanisms is precisely why they must be used rigorously.
Where the principal problem belongs to the field of Family Law, it may be more effective to address custody, contact, communications or urgent measures directly rather than attempting to transform every incident into a criminal case.
Resources, effectiveness and credibility
A criminal complaint may trigger a substantial institutional response: police intervention, statements, risk assessments, monitoring, legal assistance, participation by the Public Prosecutor and court hearings.
All of this consumes time, public resources and a considerable amount of personal energy for everyone involved.
When this machinery is activated repeatedly in response to incidents of limited seriousness and the proceedings repeatedly end without any effective measure being adopted, the practical outcome may be very limited.
There is also another consequence that should be considered.
If every incident is presented with the same level of seriousness, it may become increasingly difficult to distinguish genuinely serious events from those that form part of an intensely conflictual relationship.
Repeated complaints do not automatically make the person filing them unreliable. Each incident must be assessed individually. But a strategy based on criminalising every episode may ultimately make the overall conflict more difficult to evaluate.
If everything is presented as extraordinary, the genuinely extraordinary event may eventually become less visible.
Conflict, risk and criminal conduct are not the same thing
In this area, we consider it particularly important to distinguish between three concepts:
- The existence of a conflict between the parties.
- The existence of a situation of risk.
- The existence of specific conduct capable of constituting a criminal offence.
All three may coincide, but they are not necessarily equivalent.
A couple may be involved in an extremely intense conflict without every action by either person amounting to a criminal offence. There may also be circumstances that justify preventive measures even where criminal responsibility is ultimately not established.
Separating these different levels allows more rational legal decisions to be made and helps prevent criminal proceedings from becoming an indefinite continuation of the personal conflict.
UFAM, police risk assessment and judicial decisions
In cases of gender-based violence, police intervention may activate the relevant risk assessment and monitoring protocols.
The current VioGén 2 System includes among its functions the police assessment of risk, the establishment of monitoring measures and the protection of victims.
A judicial hearing may subsequently take place in order to determine whether the legal requirements for a protection order or other precautionary measures are satisfied.
These assessments serve different purposes.
It is therefore possible for a police assessment to identify a significant level of risk and for the case to remain within the monitoring system while a court subsequently decides not to grant the requested protection order.
There is not necessarily any contradiction between the two.
The Police work from a preventive and risk-management perspective. The court must determine whether the legal and evidential requirements for a particular precautionary measure have been satisfied.
Likewise, the refusal of a protection order does not automatically mean that the complaint was false, nor does it necessarily determine the final outcome of the criminal proceedings.
Emotions are part of the conflict. They are not a substitute for evidence.
A person going through a difficult separation may experience fear, frustration, anger, anxiety or a profound sense of injustice.
All of this forms part of the human reality of the conflict.
But criminal proceedings require an emotional account to be translated into facts capable of legal analysis.
What happened? When did it happen? Who was present? Are there messages? Are there lawfully obtained recordings? Is there a medical report? Are there witnesses? What happened immediately before and afterwards?
Emotions may explain how a person experiences a particular situation.
They do not replace evidence of the facts.
For this reason, our approach is to separate, from the outset, the personal conflict from those facts that can actually be established in criminal proceedings.
Conflictual relationships and apparently contradictory behaviour
Personal relationships do not always follow a linear pattern.
In our practice we have encountered couples capable of experiencing serious confrontations, later reconciling, continuing to live together, maintaining intimate relations and, at the same time, continuing with criminal complaints or judicial proceedings against one another.
From the outside, some of these behaviours may appear difficult to understand.
However, a later reconciliation does not prove that an earlier violent incident did not occur.
Likewise, the continuation of a sentimental or sexual relationship does not automatically determine what happened during a specific incident.
The purpose of criminal proceedings is precisely to isolate each event, determine what occurred and assess the available evidence.
Cultural context and personal relationships
Fuenlabrada is a diverse city, and a significant part of our professional practice involves people from different countries and cultural backgrounds.
The way in which an argument, a separation, a reconciliation or the continuation of a relationship is interpreted may vary considerably between individuals, families and cultural environments.
We sometimes encounter relationships that, viewed from the outside, might appear to have ended definitively after certain events and yet subsequently continue by decision of the people involved.
Understanding that context may help to interpret the dynamics of a relationship.
But cultural context does not alter the applicable legal standard.
An assault, a threat, coercion or non-consensual sexual conduct must be assessed in accordance with Spanish law and the available evidence, regardless of the nationality or background of the people involved.
Understanding context does not mean justifying criminal conduct.
Sexual offences within intimate relationships
We have also acted in proceedings involving offences against sexual freedom arising within existing or previous intimate or sexual relationships.
These cases are particularly sensitive because the central issue may be what happened at a specific moment and whether consent existed for that particular act.
The existence of previous sexual relations does not amount to permanent consent to future sexual activity.
Nor does it remove the need to analyse each individual incident separately.
Previous and subsequent conversations, witness statements, electronic communications, medical reports and other surrounding circumstances may all be relevant when reconstructing what occurred.
In these proceedings, it is particularly important to avoid premature conclusions and to examine the evidence rigorously.
Threats and coercion outside the family context
Not all proceedings involving threats or coercion fall within the field of gender-based violence.
We also act in disputes between private individuals, former family members, neighbours or people who have previously had some other kind of relationship.
Particular attention may be required in disputes arising after a separation where new partners, relatives or other people close to either side become involved.
A dispute initially involving only two people may eventually generate telephone calls, messages, confrontations or incidents involving several individuals.
Cross-complaints may arise, making it necessary to determine individually what conduct is attributable to each person involved.
Unlawful occupation, trespass and disputes involving homes and property
We have also acted in Fuenlabrada in criminal proceedings concerning homes and other properties.
In this area, it is essential to distinguish between legally different offences.
Occupying a property without authorisation where that property does not constitute another person’s home is not the same as entering or remaining in a dwelling against the will of the person who lives there.
In the first situation, the offence of unlawful occupation may arise. Where the property constitutes another person’s home, the offence of unlawful entry into a dwelling may be applicable.
The distinction affects the legally protected interest, the criminal classification and the procedural response.
Some cases also have a background that makes classification more difficult: former partners who previously lived together, relatives who were initially authorised to enter or remain in the property, temporary permission to use a home, disputes after a relationship breakdown or disagreements concerning who was entitled to occupy a particular dwelling.
It is therefore necessary to reconstruct carefully who was actually using the property, whether it genuinely constituted that person’s home, on what basis access had initially been permitted and what subsequently occurred.
Not every possession dispute constitutes a criminal offence.
But neither must every dispute concerning a home necessarily be resolved exclusively through civil proceedings.
Fraud, cyber fraud and identity theft
An increasing part of our criminal practice involves fraud committed through electronic means.
We assist clients in Fuenlabrada who have suffered fraudulent transfers, unauthorised use of payment methods, access to accounts, online deception or other forms of cyber fraud.
We have also encountered situations in which a victim’s personal data has been used to open bank accounts or enter into contracts without their knowledge.
These cases present a particular difficulty: the person who formally appears as the holder of an account or contract is not necessarily the person who actually carried out the transaction.
The investigation may require the reconstruction of transfers, banking information, communications, devices used, account-opening documentation and other elements of digital and financial traceability.
In offences committed through the Internet, following the movement of money and establishing who actually controlled the accounts involved may be just as important as analysing the original deception.
Drug offences
We have also acted in Fuenlabrada in proceedings involving controlled substances.
In our local practice, these have mainly been cases of limited scale in which the central issue may be whether the substance seized was intended for personal consumption or whether there are indications of distribution to third parties.
The quantity and nature of the substance, the way in which it was packaged, money seized, communications, the location of the incident and the surrounding circumstances may all be relevant.
The defence requires these elements to be considered together rather than focusing exclusively on the quantity of substance seized.
Road traffic offences
Road traffic offences also form part of our criminal practice in Fuenlabrada.
The cases we encounter include proceedings involving driving without a licence in circumstances specifically criminalised by Spanish law, as well as cases involving foreign nationals holding driving licences issued in other countries.
In the latter cases, it is important first to determine the exact legal status of the driving licence concerned.
The fact that a foreign licence does not provide administrative authorisation to drive in Spain should not automatically be equated with the commission of a criminal offence.
The type of licence, the issuing country, the driver’s administrative situation, the possibility of exchanging the licence and, above all, whether the facts genuinely fall within one of the situations established by the Spanish Criminal Code must all be examined.
When Criminal Law and Immigration Law intersect
In Fuenlabrada, criminal proceedings also frequently intersect with immigration matters.
A criminal conviction may produce consequences extending beyond the sentence itself.
A criminal record may become relevant in certain residence, renewal, long-term residence or Spanish nationality proceedings.
This makes it necessary to consider both areas of law together.
In some cases, there may be a legitimate interest in reaching an appropriate plea agreement or settlement and bringing the proceedings to an end, allowing the relevant time periods for the future cancellation of the criminal record to begin running.
In other cases, there may be sufficient grounds to contest criminal responsibility, appeal the decision or maintain the legal dispute before the judgment becomes final.
There is no universal strategy.
The appropriate solution depends on the criminal case, the person’s immigration status and any immigration procedure that may already be pending or may become necessary in the future.
You may also consult our page on Immigration and Nationality Lawyers in Fuenlabrada.
Gender-based violence and immigration law
The relationship between Criminal Law and Immigration Law becomes particularly important in certain gender-based violence proceedings.
Spanish law provides specific mechanisms of protection for foreign women who are victims of gender-based violence, including certain residence and work authorisations linked to that situation.
These procedures have their own specific characteristics and may be directly connected with the development of the criminal proceedings.
The purpose of the system is clear: a person’s immigration status should not prevent them from seeking protection against a genuine situation of violence.
Precisely because of the importance of these consequences, it is also necessary to distinguish carefully between the existence of a relationship conflict, the existence of risk and the proof of conduct capable of constituting a criminal offence.
The possibility of obtaining a favourable consequence in immigration law does not demonstrate that a criminal complaint is being used instrumentally.
But nor does it remove the need to analyse the facts and the evidence with the same rigour as in any other criminal case.
Conduct occurring outside Spain
We sometimes assist people whose relationship conflict began in another country and who, after establishing themselves in Spain, wish to report events that previously occurred abroad.
The fact that the parties now reside in Spain does not, by itself, mean that Spanish courts have jurisdiction to investigate any conduct committed outside Spanish territory.
The jurisdiction of the Spanish courts will depend on the applicable legal rules, the nature of the alleged offence and the relevant connections with Spain.
Before proceedings are initiated, it is therefore necessary to answer an essential question: where did the events occur, and on what legal basis would a Spanish court have jurisdiction to deal with them?
Criminal proceedings and employment disputes
Problems arising within an employment relationship may also eventually develop into criminal proceedings.
Access to private communications, the use of information obtained within a company, certain conduct following termination of employment or actions affecting workers’ rights may lead to proceedings before different jurisdictions.
In these situations, coordination of the legal strategy is particularly important.
An action taken in employment proceedings may have consequences for the criminal case, and statements made in criminal proceedings may likewise affect subsequent claims in other jurisdictions.
Resolving the conflict, not multiplying it
The role of a criminal lawyer is to protect the client’s interests.
But protecting those interests does not necessarily mean opening the largest possible number of proceedings.
Particularly in prolonged family or personal disputes, a strategy based exclusively on responding to every action with a new criminal complaint may create a permanent cycle of confrontation that ultimately harms everyone involved and, where children are involved, may also affect those who are not directly participating in the litigation.
Where a criminal offence has occurred, criminal proceedings should be used.
Where there is a genuine risk, the appropriate protective mechanisms should be activated.
But where the problem primarily requires a family, civil, employment or administrative solution, legal advice should be capable of identifying that reality.
Our objective is not to judicialise every conflict, but to determine which legal response is genuinely useful.
A criminal law practice integrated with other areas of law
One of the characteristics of EBAN Abogados is its multidisciplinary approach.
A criminal case may simultaneously affect:
- Divorce or family proceedings.
- Child custody or contact arrangements.
- The use of a home.
- A residence permit.
- A future application for Spanish nationality.
- An employment relationship.
- A financial claim.
For this reason, where necessary, we coordinate criminal proceedings with our Family, Immigration, Civil, Employment or Commercial Law practice areas.
The purpose is not to transform one problem into several different proceedings, but precisely to prevent a decision taken in one area from generating unnecessary consequences in another.
Criminal lawyers with an office in Fuenlabrada
EBAN Abogados · Fuenlabrada office, Calle Austria 11
Our Fuenlabrada office forms part of the same law firm and professional team as our offices in Madrid and Illescas.
We handle criminal proceedings in Fuenlabrada and other municipalities in the south of Madrid, both in the defence of persons under investigation or facing charges and on behalf of victims who wish to participate in the proceedings as private prosecutors.
An initial consultation allows us to understand the facts, review the available documentation and provide a preliminary assessment of the possible legal options.
Contact us about your case
If you have received a criminal complaint, a court summons, have been called to give evidence as a person under investigation, have been the victim of a criminal offence or need to determine whether particular conduct may have criminal significance, you can contact our team.
Before deciding how to proceed, we will try to determine three basic questions: what happened, what can be proved, and what legal outcome it makes sense to pursue.
EBAN Abogados · Criminal Law in Fuenlabrada
