A couple in Spain is accused of selling their 14-year-old daughter to a 22-year-old man for €5,000 ($5,200) some three years ago, according to local media reports.

The girl managed to flee, and the parents, who went to the police station in Cádiz in the south-west of the country to report her missing, were arrested along with the man, according to the newspaper La Vanguardia and other local media.

The media reported that the arrests took place in early December.

The girl, who had filed a complaint, told police that she had been subjected to psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, had been living with the man in a delivery van and was forced to collect scrap metal to earn money, according to the reports.

She also told police that she was sexually assaulted by another man at age 12 – also reportedly arranged by her father.

The father is in custody, while the mother and the man whom the girl was forced to marry in 2021 were released on probation.

The three are accused of human trafficking, sexual violence, and child abuse, the reports said.

If convicted, they could face lengthy prison sentences.

(dpa/NAN)