Credit: Netflix

The true-crime catalogue on Netflix has been an eye-opener in recent weeks, which brings us to the talk of the town: The Predator of Seville.

The Spanish docu-series primarily follows Gabriella Vega’s account, who was only 19 when she became a victim of Manuel Blanco Vela, a seemingly friendly guide famous for organising low-cost trips for international students. Vega travelled to Spain from the US, intending to better her Spanish before starting university.

Everything was unfolding accordingly until she booked a trip with Discover Excursions, a company specialising in arranging low-budget trips for international students. During the weekend getaway, the guide invited her over for drinks, and, unsuspectingly, Vega accepted the offer, unaware of the danger that lay ahead.

In December 2017, Vega publicly accused Blanco Vela of sexually assaulting her during a trip to Morocco in 2013. During an appearance on Megyn Kelly Today in April 2018, she shared that two days after she opened up about her traumatic experience on Facebook, eight other women reached out to her, alleging they had also been victims of Blanco Vela. “When that show happened, a lot of people started reaching out to me,” Vega said in The Predator of Seville. “My phone just started going off.”

Spain’s High Court, the Audiencia Nacional, started investigating Blanco Vela in May 2018 (via El País). Yet, it took years to build a concrete case against him. Co-host of Motive, a podcast on the perpetrator’s crimes, told the tabloid in February 2020 that the alleged victims were scared to file reports to authorities, fearing disbelief and lack of credibility.  

“’Oh, but you were out drinking,’ the authorities could say. Or, ‘why did you go to a bedroom with a stranger?’” she explained. “They feared being the kind of victim we so often blame in this kind of case.”

Although allegations against the Spanish tour guide continued to pile up, justice didn’t take place overnight. With several alleged victims also residing abroad, there was apparently persistent confusion among most due to a lack of knowledge about pursuing legal action in a foreign country.

It was only last year that Spain’s National Court found Blanco Vela guilty of assaulting Vega and two other victims of American origin. Following testimonies of several alleged survivors, the National Court found him guilty of assaulting three American students. So, that leaves us with the question about where he is now.

The former tour guide was sentenced to six years for assaulting Vega and two and a half years for assaulting the other two American students. However, according to the tabloid, the court also released him a week later until the sentence was finalised, citing that he was not a flight risk, having confiscated his passport earlier, issuing a travel ban and mandatory weekly court appearances.

Blanco Vela appealed the conviction and also refused to participate in The Predator of Seville, which ends with Vega describing the day he was sent to prison as the “best day of my life.”