A Guardia Civil officer in Tenerife has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison after being found guilty of illegally accessing confidential police databases to obtain personal information about former partners, their families and people connected to them.

The ruling was handed down by the Provincial Court of Santa Cruz, which found that the officer repeatedly misused police systems he was authorised to access through his job.

Years of unauthorised searches

According to the court, the officer spent several years carrying out unauthorised searches on a range of police databases to obtain sensitive information about people in his personal life.

The data accessed included criminal records, home addresses, police alerts, personal documents and other protected information.

The investigation found that the searches focused mainly on two former partners, members of their families, their new relationships and other people within their personal and professional circles.

One of the women told the court she was shocked and distressed to discover that the officer had continued searching for information about her years after their relationship had ended.

During the trial, it also emerged that some of the relationships had ended following allegations of domestic abuse.

Internal audit uncovered unusual activity

The officer had previously been stationed at the Guardia Civil posts in Tacoronte and Radazul. The investigation began after the force's internal monitoring systems detected an unusually high number of repeated database searches involving the same individuals.

Guardia Civil IT specialists told the court that automated alerts were triggered because of the frequency and pattern of the searches, prompting an internal audit.

The review also revealed that the officer had accessed information relating to around 20 vehicles.

Investigators initially considered whether the searches might be linked to illegal vehicle trading or even drug trafficking, but neither theory could be substantiated.

Defence rejected

The defence argued that some of the database searches had been carried out outside the officer's normal working hours, after his official shift had ended.

However, senior officers testified that it is common practice for Guardia Civil personnel to remain at their workplace after their shift to complete administrative duties, meaning they could still legitimately access police systems while on the premises.

The court rejected the defence's argument.

Compensation for victims

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the officer to pay compensation to eight victims whose personal data had been accessed unlawfully.

Compensation awards range from €1,000 to €2,000, although one of the victims declined to accept any payment.

The conviction is not yet final and remains subject to appeal before the TSJC.