The Mossos d'Esquadra and the Prosecutor's Office have opened proceedings for the assault on a minor that occurred last April in the Plaça de la Llotja in Lleida, after the video of the beating was disseminated yesterday. Two girls under 14 years of age participate in the recording, while a third records the events.
The case, however, had already been reported in April. The police investigation has identified the two aggressors, but both are criminally unaccountable due to their age, so the Prosecutor's Office will file the criminal proceedings and send a report on their situation to the Generalitat de Catalunya for possible social intervention.
Larrosa admits that the city council did not act in time
The mayor of Lleida, Fèlix Larrosa, acknowledged this Monday that the city council did not intervene when the assault occurred. After reviewing the environment of those involved, he focused on the detected family dysfunctions and on the fact that the minors were enrolled in a school in the Pardinyes neighborhood.
"We should have been able to intervene earlier" - Fèlix Larrosa, mayor of Lleida, Lleida City Council
Larrosa also called for complete coordination between municipal bodies and services to prevent the local government from learning about incidents of this type through channels other than internal ones. In the same context, he questioned how the circulation of the video was managed after its dissemination.
The mayor linked this criticism to the possibility that the recording had been disseminated by the victim's mother. Furthermore, he publicly lamented the situation of one of the aggressors' families by stating that it cannot be accepted that a mother says she does not know what to do with her daughter.
Internal investigation reviews Guardia Urbana and Social Services
In parallel to the proceedings opened by the Mossos d'Esquadra and the Prosecutor's Office, the city council has launched an internal investigation to clarify why the Guardia Urbana or the Department of Social Action and Innovation did not report the events when they were reported in April.
Larrosa has also requested an in-depth report from the deputy mayors for Security and Social Services. The objective is to determine why no protocol for the care of the minors involved was activated after the assault in the Plaça de la Llotja.
Aside from the criminal proceedings, which will be closed due to the age of the two aggressors, the institutional response will be through the social sphere. The referral of the report to the Generalitat de Catalunya seeks to open a possible intervention with the minors and their family environment.
While this municipal action is being reviewed, the city council is preparing a support plan for the families involved. Larrosa defined it as an intervention process to talk with the families and support them, after the case came to light again with the dissemination of the video.
The assault occurred in Plaça de la Llotja and the minors involved were enrolled in a school in the Pardinyes neighborhood, two of the specific details that the mayor detailed when explaining why he has requested a thorough report from Security and Social Services.