Mario López, sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for repeated sexual assaults on a minor

Mario López, former coach of Lointek Gernika for more than two decades and of the under-16, under-18 and under-19 teams of the Spanish women's basketball team, has been sentenced to 13 and a half years in prison for the continued crime of sexual assault of an underage player.

The prosecution requested 14 years in prison for López , while the private prosecution's request extended to 18 years.

The Sixth Section of the Vizcaya Court has considered proven that in 1998, when the victim was 13 years old and the defendant 31, he sexually assaulted the victim repeatedly .

The ruling, which can be appealed before the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country, concludes that the defendant acted "exercising the position of power conferred on him by the age difference", his status as coach and the "fear" that the player felt towards him.

[ News in development ]