MADRID, Spain – Spain's judicial watchdog body has raised a storm after issuing a fine of $2,100 to a judge who failed to ensure the jailing of a convicted pedophile later charged in the slaying of a 5-year-old girl.
Prosecutors said Wednesday they will seek a harsher reprimand against Judge Rafael Tirado.
Tirado was judge in the first of two child abuse cases against Santiago del Valle, who was convicted twice.
But slip-ups meant he remained free until his arrest in March after the body of the girl was found in southern Spain, three months after she disappeared.
The child's father says the fine is "a disgrace for Spanish justice." Tirado has argued the judicial system was at fault.
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