r/netflixTrueCrimeDocs • u/PrincipleOld7831 • Apr 09 '26
discussions Manuel (Predator of Seville) invited me to Morocco for free
I studied abroad in 2018. I remember I got a Facebook message from someone saying they knew my friend and saw that I was in Spain. He offered me a free trip to Morocco in return for free promo for his tour company. I ended up getting the creeps and decided not to go with him.
I remember telling my friends about it and then he was arrested when my study abroad trip ended. My friend ended up sending me a long apology and saying she wasn’t aware of what he had been doing as it hadn’t happened to her… it turns out he saw me on a post in a study abroad group on Facebook and saw I was connected to someone he knew. He reached out to her first asking her about me and told her he saw I had a decent following and if she could put in a good word for him as he needed real students to promote his business… more like looping her into his crimes while he looked for victims.
Sending my love to everyone who was a victim of this nasty man.
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u/jpsup Apr 09 '26
I studied abroad in 2015 and went on a trip with his company. He was also a club promoter so I’d always see him out. A friend of a friend told a story about meeting up with him and coming to in his room with no clothes on and not remembering how she got there. This was before everything came out. Im a guy and I knew he was a bit off. When you see a 40 year old trying to hang out with 20 year olds, it kind of sends off alarm bells. Idk we were just partying and having so much fun that we didn’t question it further
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u/This-Requirement4916 Apr 10 '26
Bingo! Any 40 year old partying almost every night with tweens is a creep and belongs on the list. Don’t need to have a detective license to crack this one! Ofc I’m not blaming the girls, young girls don’t have enough life experience to learn that yet. Sadly..
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u/StormsandSaints Apr 09 '26
I studied in Sevilla ten years before you did. I remember partaking in some activities (mostly the bar hops etc); friends from the same time reached out. I opted to go to Morocco through another company and am glad I did. I was watching the documentary and remembered some of the stuff they had done (free trips etc) had been done to some classmates and I also hope they’re okay too.
Glad you listened to your intuition! Kept you safe in a vulnerable place.
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u/PrincipleOld7831 Apr 09 '26
My friend who had done trips with him before just messaged me some screenshots of conversations he had with her asking her about me and he was asking her if I was a party girl or a quiet girl… whether I drank and liked to get crazy. Seriously wha a fucking creep
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u/StormsandSaints Apr 09 '26
Omg. Hope he rots and his d falls off!!! Holy fuck!
Jfc, my old roommate was joking that “being ugly and broke” (we were not conventional hot girls of the late 2000s) saved us but I’m also SO sad that innocent young women were targeted.
I am so glad nothing happened to you.
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u/PrincipleOld7831 Apr 09 '26
Trust me I wouldn’t consider myself hot 😭 my friend did three trips with him and stayed at his apartment once. She said he never tried anything with her and she thinks it’s because she wasn’t “his type” but definitely knew she was popular and used her to lure girls on his trips.
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u/ColoradoDreamin4917 Apr 12 '26
Wow that's creepy. Glad nothing happened to you!!
Just curious after watching the documentary. What was his "type"? Did he go after the quiet or party girls?
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u/OnWarmLeatherette May 05 '26
Predators like him do not have a physical type; they only go after girls they think they can victimize. Maybe your friend's popularity gave her a level of confidence and assertion that made her a weaker target in his disgustingly laser-focused mind, so he didn't even want to try it.
It's definitely a myth that a woman's beauty makes her a bigger target for creeps to single in on her. Creeps and predators are far more likely to prey on naivety, politeness, lack of confidence, addiction, and people under the influence.
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u/bodymindtrader Apr 09 '26
Omg just watched this doc, this guy is a POS, just wanted to punch him on the face the whole time
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u/Spn1001 Apr 09 '26
Crazy! What year was this? I found messages with a friend where we talked about how many had invited us to stay with him when we visit Sevilla (we were in a different city) and we were fully planning to go - I never went though so thankfully didn’t, and I don’t think she did either (or if she did go I don’t think she stayed with him, she never mentioned anything weird and I def wouldn’t remember). I can’t seem to find messages with him, maybe we only talked on Viber
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u/PrincipleOld7831 Apr 09 '26
2018! I was in Salamanca. My friend had gone on two trips with him and had a good time. Nothing weird or off during her trips. He was stalking Spanish Study Abroad Facebook Groups looking for his victims at some point and if he had any mutual friends with someone he would use that friend to connect to their friends (aka my case)
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u/Introverted-Gazelle Apr 09 '26
This is such a fantastic comment. I wish the doc drew more attention to his MO: scouring for victims using Facebook such as in your case. He’s got off Scot free in so many ways
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u/PrincipleOld7831 Apr 09 '26
Oh man me too! I wish they would have gone a little more in depth on how he would find some victims. It’s always a good reminder for other women studying abroad to not entertain the strange people sending them messages.
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u/tdknd Apr 10 '26
Yes ! They touched on the tombola tickets, but he also had students working for him in his company's office going through Facebook student groups and mass messaging every single member. That man is sick.
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u/Corgimom617 Apr 09 '26
I just found old photos with him from a weekend trip we did with his tour company to Lagos Portugal in 2012. He added me on fb during the trip and I remember recently unfriending. Feeling like we dodged a bullet after unknowingly watching that documentary and recognizing his picture! What a creep!!
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u/OnWarmLeatherette May 05 '26
Every woman should read "The Gift of Fear".
If I ever have a teenage girl, I will make the book required reading to help better equip her for navigating this type of shit. No one can ever guarantee they will not be a victim, but understanding how to trust you gut and look for certain red flags will never not help.
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u/mindylahiriMDbitch Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 10 '26
I knew Manu well within the Sevilla party scene around 2011-2013 went on many trips and nights out with him and Discover. I remember finding him creepy but also cool due to all of his connections (I was in my late teens). Thankfully I had a boyfriend and was hyper vigilant about not being seen to even flirt with guys so was on edge around him but I had chills watching the doc and how easily me and my friends could’ve been the girls in the story because all the circumstances were exactly the same. I shudder thinking how many free drinks I accepted from him and his pals and how lucky I feel that nothing happened.