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Even the Public Ministry demanded that the charges be dismissed, but the judge ruled differently: a man in Valencia was sentenced to pay compensation of 3,000 euros to his ex-wife for allegedly hiding his homosexuality from him. Therefore, the responsible judge has declared the marriage null and void, which was divorced in 2011, the media reported this Tuesday night, citing judicial circles.
The convicted lawyer Javier Vilalta, who described himself as bisexual during the trial and admitted to having had “sexual relations with people of the same sex” before marriage, called the verdict “terrible” according to the newspaper “El Mundo”. His lawyers announced his appeal.
The Spanish Association of Lesbians, Gays, Trans and Bisexuals (FELGTB) criticized the sentence as reactionary. In a “moral process” a “disturbing and dangerous precedent” had been created, a statement from the association said. FELGTB President Uge Sangil stated: “A person’s sexual orientation has been publicly put on the bench.” That is unconstitutional. The deputy prime minister of the Valencian Community, Mónica Oltra, also harshly criticized the procedure: it was time that “obsolete legal norms that violate the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution were repealed.”
The judge invokes the laws of 1889
Even the prosecutor had spoken in favor of dismissing the charges. However, in her trial, the judge relied on the civil code of 1889. This provides for the annulment of a marriage if it occurs due to “fraud”. According to the judge, Vilalta was deliberately silent about his homosexuality.
“I never cheated on my wife. I was in love when I married her,” said the convict to “El Mundo.” “My wife knows that I was totally straight during the marriage.” The separation took place in 2011 by mutual agreement, the sexual orientation of the man did not play any role. After the divorce, he and his wife remained good friends, Vilalta explained, even after he introduced her to a male partner in 2016 whom he “found very nice.”
Vilalta’s ex-wife, according to El Mundo, sued him after she learned that she had had affairs with men before marriage. Originally, he had asked for a compensation of 10,000 euros. However, the court ruled that he should receive 1000 euros for each of the three years of marriage.
