GRANADA, Spain (AP) — A Spanish court has ordered Juana Rivas to face investigation for a crime involving a minor, a significant development in a case that has drawn international attention. The Provincial Court of Granada partially granted an appeal filed by her ex-husband, Francesco Arcuri, on May 9. This move challenges a previous decision by the Court of Instruction number 4 of Granada, which had allowed the couple’s 11-year-old son, Daniel, to remain with his mother in Granada after a holiday period.
The court’s decision, issued Thursday, July 24, aims to determine if Daniel has been in Granada for the past seven months in defiance of an Italian court order for him to return to his father. The original precautionary measure, enacted in January by the Granada court, had prevented Daniel’s return to Carloforte, Sardinia.
The Provincial Court’s ruling did not hold back its criticism of Rivas. Judges believe she took her youngest son out of Italy without considering the potential psychological harm to him. Echoing sentiments from other Italian courts, the ruling accuses Rivas of “altering the custody regime” that rightly belongs to Arcuri. Essentially, the court points out that Rivas kept Daniel with her, knowing he was scheduled to return to his father in January after the Christmas holidays.
The court deemed the Jan. 7 decision by Court of Instruction number 4 of Granada, which permitted the child to stay in Spain, as “precipitated.” This is particularly true, the hearing suggests, because the presiding judge was aware of two prior rulings that had already accused Rivas of attempting to “break the bond” between the father and his children.
Judges also expressed doubt regarding Rivas’s claims of suffering mistreatment, along with her children. They attribute these persistent complaints to her alleged desire to “darken the father figure” in the eyes of her children. The court suggests she is “using” them in the protracted legal battle she is engaged in with Arcuri.
Rivas had previously been convicted of child abduction in 2017. After Spain’s Supreme Court upheld that conviction, she briefly entered prison. She was later granted a pardon by the government, contingent on her not committing a similar offense until the end of 2025. That prohibition remains active.
- A Spanish court ordered Juana Rivas to face investigation for allegedly committing a crime involving a minor.
- The ruling partially upholds an appeal by her ex-husband, Francesco Arcuri, against an earlier decision allowing their son Daniel to stay in Spain.
- The court questions Rivas’s actions, suggesting potential psychological harm to the child and accusing her of altering custody arrangements.
- Rivas has a prior conviction for child abduction and is currently under a conditional pardon until 2025.
Did you know? Juana Rivas was previously convicted of child abduction in 2017 and received a conditional pardon from the government.
