Former contestant of Big Brother’s Spanish edition, José María López, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison and fined £5,300 for sexually assaulting a female co-contestant, Carlota Prado, who was intoxicated and unconscious after an alcohol-fuelled party while filming the TV show in 2017.
The story became public in 2019 when El Confidencial news website released footage of the moment the producers confronted her in the confession room in which she can be seen breaking down and pleading with them to turn it off.
The judge said Lopez – who was ‘driven by a lustful impulse, knowing Carlota P.A. was in a drunken stupor that would later lead to unconsciousness’ – had ‘removed her trousers while they were in bed and begun making sexual movements under the duvet‘, despite the victim saying ‘I can’t‘.
‘The defendant’s lewd movements continued for several minutes, until the victim’s face and arm were uncovered, revealing her unconscious state, prompting the producers to intervene,’ he wrote.
Lopez was immediately kicked off the show.
The trial had been due to start in February 2022 but it was delayed until November 2022 because Prado was struggling with her mental health and didn’t feel able to testify.
Jose Maria Lopez went on trial in November with the court sentencing him to 15 months of prison for a sexual abuse offense against Carlota P. A. that took place in the early hours of 4th November, 2017′,as court documents showed today, 17th April, 2023.
The court also imposed a ‘four-year restraining order on him during which he must have no contact with the victim, and pay her 6,000 euros (£5,300) in compensation’, part of which must be paid by the Spanish production company that made the show.
Big Brother is a popular reality show featuring contestants locked in a purpose-built house for weeks on end with their every move tracked on camera 24 hours a day. Viewers then vote off the contestants one by one.
Story: Christy Dung