ISSUE NO. 1646
19 - 25 January 2017
MALLORCA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Photo by Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Demonised
Lawyer’s plea over abuse pictures probe By Simon Firth PHOTOGRAPHS taken of a young girl with a genetic condition whose parents could face sex abuse charges, were designed to monitor changes in her skin colour, a judge has been told. The lawyer for Fernando Blanco and Margarita Grau denied the pictures were sexual in nature. His clients, said Alberto Martin, should not be “demonised and burned in a bonfire” by the force of public opinion. Any allegations against them should be proven in a court of
law, he told reporters. The couple have been in the headlines over claims they raised nearly €920,000 to fund urgent medical treatment for their daughter’s genetic condition. She is said to have TTD which has been linked to intellectual impairment and can lead to early death. But after fundraising began in 2008 the couple apparently amassed €918,000 in donations. In a trial last year they were accused of using this money to fund a lavish lifestyle from the proceeds of
the public’s generosity. Martin said there was “no truth” in claims that the pictures were pornographic or sexually explicit in relation to the girl who is currently staying with relatives in Mallorca. He said the parents could not remember taking the pictures but had answered the questions of the presiding judge who would now make a judgement. Linking the issue of the pictures to the fraud proceedings against the couple, was unfair, said Martin Fernando Blanco has now returned to prison where he is being held.
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FERNANDO BLANCO: Denied the pictures were sexual in nature.