One of the gang-rape suspects in Malaga sexually assaulted his ex-girlfriend when he was 13 along with his older brother
The youth was not charged with the assault due to his age, despite the judicial authority establishing that the siblings had acted together
One of the three men suspected of the gang rape that reportedly took place in Malaga in October has a police record. When he was 13, he was reported for sexually assaulting his ex-girlfriend together with his brother, who was already of age. At that time, the boy was still criminally unimputable, as he was only a few days away from turning 14, although the judicial authority was able to prove that both family members acted jointly.
This case dates back to February 2020. Although the suspect, who is now 19 years old, could not be criminally prosecuted, his brother could, as he had recently turned 18. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison for a crime of sexual assault on a minor under 16 years of age.
According to the evidence, the then-13-year-old took the 15-year-old victim to a house where his brother was staying under the pretext of chatting in privacy, as she wanted to break off the relationship. The teenagers went into one of the bedrooms to talk, but after a while, he tried to assault the girl. Frightened, she threatened to scream.
The suspect then went with her to another room and his brother entered later. By mutual agreement, the siblings left the room in the dark and closed both the door and the window, which left the victim completely paralysed by fear. It was then that they jointly carried out the sexual assault.
This was also proven by the High Court of Justice of Andalucía (TSJA), which agreed to reduce the defendant's sentence by six months. In addition to the sentence of 13 and a half years' imprisonment, he was also sentenced to seven years' probation and banned from approaching or communicating with the victim for a period of 16 years. The other brother could not be prosecuted by a juvenile court, despite the fact that the judicial report confirmed his participation in the joint rape.
Last week, the now-19-year-old was arrested, along with two other young men, and accused of the group sexual assault of an 18-year-old woman near Rossé Vip Club in Malaga, where they had reportedly met. The events took place in the early hours of 30 October, although the arrests were made a few days ago after a lengthy police investigation.
The key to locating the suspects was the collaboration of the club, which had images of the three men taken in the photo booth of the premises. The judicial authority ordered the three suspects to be remanded in custody without bail after considering that the victim's story was "credible and convincing". The medical examination she underwent that morning was consistent with her testimony.
The defence, however, believes that the judicial decision has been motivated more by the current social climate and the alarm generated by this type of case than by the evidence itself. They argued that the complaint may contain certain inconsistencies and stated that, for now, the presumption of innocence of the defendants must prevail, as they denied the allegations and maintained at all times during their court appearance that the relations were consensual.
