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Real Madrid defender Raul Asencio was acquitted Thursday of sharing sexually explicit footage involving a minor without consent, a Spanish court said.
The 23-year-old was not accused of participating in or recording the encounter. Prosecutors had alleged that he later showed the footage to a third party.
The case centered on sexually explicit footage of two young women, recorded without their consent in a private area of a beach club in Spain's Canary Islands in June 2023. One of the women was 16 years old at the time.
Three of Asencio's former Real Madrid youth teammates, Andres Garcia, Ferran Ruiz and Juan Rodriguez, were also tried in the case. Each accepted a one-year suspended prison sentence for distributing child pornography.
During Thursday's hearing at the court in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, on the island of Gran Canaria, the two women confirmed they had forgiven all four defendants.
The Public Prosecutor's Office subsequently withdrew the charges against Asencio and reduced the sentences it had sought for the other three defendants, according to a statement from the court.
Prosecutors had initially requested a two-year, six-month prison sentence for Asencio and four years and seven months for each of the other three defendants.
Garcia, Ruiz and Rodriguez also received a two-year restraining order barring them from approaching the victims and a three-year ban from working in professions involving minors. Their sentences were suspended on condition that they do not reoffend.
The court said the ruling is final, as all parties accepted it and waived their right to appeal.
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The acquittal came a day after Asencio was convicted separately of driving under the influence of alcohol. He was fined €14,400 ($16,800) and had his driving license suspended for eight months.
In an Instagram post following his acquittal, Asencio addressed the drink-driving conviction. "I deeply regret what happened and take full responsibility," he said. "It has been an experience from which I have learned, and I am certain that it will not happen again."
Real Madrid opened disciplinary proceedings against Asencio following the drink-driving conviction, head coach Jose Mourinho said Thursday.
"While the proceedings are open, I see him as a Real Madrid player," Mourinho said. "But a Real Madrid player is a Real Madrid player 24 hours a day, seven days a week and 12 months a year. Everything you do off the field is still about Real Madrid."
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