Real Madrid defender Raúl Asencio and three former teammates from the club’s youth teams could face criminal charges for allegedly recording sexual images of a woman and a minor and distributing them without their consent.

Asencio is alleged to have solicited a video recorded by his former youth division teammates Andrés García, Ferrán Ruiz and Juan Rodríguez that depicted a June 2023 sexual encounter between his ex-teammates, a woman and a girl.

After finalizing its investigation, the Gran Canaria High Court of Justice released an order Wednesday to formalize the criminal proceedings against the four players. This decision opens the way for the prosecutor’s office to file charges and request a trial.

According to the judge, there is evidence to support allegations of crimes including violation of privacy, distribution of videos to third parties without the victims’ knowledge or consent, solicitation of a minor for pornographic purposes and possession of child pornography.

The four players involved were arrested in September 2023 and had their mobile phones seized by police, with Madrid confirming that they had given evidence over “the sharing of a private video via WhatsApp.”

Police said a complaint had been filed by the mother of a 16-year-old girl in the Canary Islands regarding the alleged recording to which she did not consent.

In February, the court rejected an appeal by Asencio to end the investigation into his alleged role. Lawyers for Asencio, 22, had filed an appeal against the ruling that determined the investigation into whether he distributed the video should continue.

However, the judge upheld the decision to proceed with the inquiry, rejecting the motion for dismissal.

Asencio has been a regular in Carlo Ancelotti’s Madrid side this season, and he started in his team’s game against Mallorca on Wednesday.

Information from ESPN writers Alex Kirkland and Rodrigo Faez was used in this story.