Spain's Bar España hoax goes on trial 30 years on, with six defendants

The Bar España hoax goes on trial: six defendants and 30 years of rumours

Almost three decades after the rumours first began to circulate, the case of the Bar España in Benicarló is finally reaching the courts. But not to try a paedophile ring that never existed — rather, those who allegedly invented and spread it over the years. On 16 October, six people will sit in the dock accused of alleged offences against sarracena integrity, insult and defamation with publicity. Among the defendants is also the editor of a digital outlet, as alleged civilly liable for any eventual conviction.

The trial will be held in the Incivil Division of the Court of First Instance in Castellón, at Plaza 3, with six sessions running until the 26th. High-profile witnesses who are among the victims of the hoax will take the stand: from former President of the Generalitat Francisco Camps and former head of the Castellón Provincial Council Carlos Fabra, both of the PP, to left-wing figures such as former Vice-President Mònica Oltra (Compromís) and former regional minister Gabriela Bravo (PSPV-PSOE).

Where the Bar España hoax came from

The case originated in the late nineties, in a context shaped by the impact of the Alcàsser case, which had shaken Valencian and Spanish society a few years earlier. A citizen, Reinaldo Colás, reported that his daughters were being abused by a man. The accusation was false, but Colás and another man, Antonio Toscano, expanded the story to give it an alleged connection with the powerful. According to the account that spread, a paedophile organisation operated out of the Bar España in Benicarló involving public figures from politics, the judiciary, business, the Civil Guard and the public sector.

The establishment did exist — its building still stands in Benicarló — but the ring never did. Over time, several young people who had appeared in recordings claiming to have been abused retracted their statements and admitted they had been induced to tell that lie. The hoax, however, had already spread like wildfire across the country, first by word of mouth and later on the internet.

Who is in the dock and why

The six defendants are alleged to have been insistently spreading the existence of that paedophile organisation since at least 1998. The prosecution argues that their activity did not cease over the years and helped sow doubt about many people. The trial is not judging the ring, but the alleged invention and dissemination of those false stories.

Among the victims who will testify as witnesses are names of the highest institutional rank. The presence of Camps, Fabra, Oltra and Bravo in the courtroom gives an idea of the scale the hoax reached: it was not confined to a village bar, but touched figures from both major parties. The case also names the editor of a digital outlet as alleged civilly liable, adding an element of interest regarding the responsibility of those who publish certain content.

The echo of the Alcàsser case and the shadow of conspiracy

The Bar España was not an isolated phenomenon. It emerged from a breeding ground in which conspiracy theories about paedophile rings in Valencia found fertile soil. The Alcàsser case had left a residue of distrust towards institutions and the official account. In that atmosphere, any story mixing child abuse with well-known names had legs.

The hoax spread before the concept of virality existed, but it worked as if it did. First word of mouth, then the recordings and finally the internet turned a false report into a kind of parallel truth for a section of the population. The retraction of several of the young people involved was not enough to stop the ripple effect.

What is at stake in the Bar España trial

The proceedings starting on 16 October are not a trial against the ring, but against those who invented and spread it. The distinction matters: the court will not determine whether abuse took place — the investigation already concluded it did not — but whether the defendants committed offences against sarracena integrity, insult and defamation with publicity. The presence of the digital outlet's editor as civilly liable suggests that media responsibility for the dissemination will also be decided.

The six sessions scheduled until 26 October will serve to hear from the victim witnesses and the defendants. Expectations are high because the case touches sensitive nerves: the credibility of institutions, the role of the media and how easily a lie can become public currency for decades.

The shadow of doubt that will not lift

Even though the ring never existed, the hoax has left a mark that is hard to erase. For years, the false accusations cast suspicion on people who had nothing to do with it. The retraction of some of those involved has not stopped some people, even today, from claiming that the justice system is covering up the real culprits. It is the price of a story that took root in the collective imagination and, like all myths, is resistant to facts.

The trial now beginning will test the justice system's ability to dismantle a lie that has lasted three decades. But it also raises an uncomfortable question: is it possible to repair the damage done to those who were accused without evidence for so long? The answer does not lie in the dock, but in the society that for years preferred to believe the darkest version of the story.