The Provincial Court has sentenced each of the three men who in May 2022 gang raped a woman they had met a few hours before on the beach in the coastal town of Pulpí (Almería) to 21 years in prison.
The ruling handed down by the Third Section of the Provincial Court of Almería sentences each of the accused to nine years in prison for a crime of aggravated sexual assault and another 12 years for two crimes of sexual assault, in this case, before their role as necessary cooperators.
The sentence, against which an appeal is possible, considers proven that the three accused were on May 21, 2022 on the beach of San Juan de los Terreros accompanied by a fourth person when the woman approached them and began a conversation. “friendly conversation.”
Thus, the accused and the victim went to have a few beers at a nearby inn and later went to a supermarket where they bought more beers. It was the defendants who suggested the woman go to “a remote place” to drink the cans, to which she agreed.
It was shortly after arriving at a place near the beach when the accused, by mutual agreement, took advantage of the situation and “with libidinous spirit,” “suddenly among the three of them” approached the victim, whom they threw to the ground where the They held him “strongly in various places on the body” to remove his underwear while one of them carried out surveillance duties.
Once she was immobilized, the victim was sexually assaulted successively by each of the three accused, who also took turns grabbing her and threatening her “with cutting her throat.” The victim had bruises on her arms and thighs as a result of the attack, as well as “moderate anxious” symptoms with “acute stress disorder.”
Based on the facts, the court considers that the classification of the Prosecutor’s Office, which requested 34 years in prison for each accused, is “completely correct” for the case of this “group rape” when a sexual assault occurred by each of the accused who, on the other hand, played a role as necessary collaborators to facilitate the sexual assault of the rest of the accused.
On the other hand, in its foundations the court highlights the testimony of the victim, who has testified on three occasions regarding these events, “absolutely coincident in essence, with more details than could be expected” despite the situation she suffered. “in a short period of time.”
In this sense, the woman was able to determine who was the person who initially pushed her and threw her to the ground while the other two accused held her by the arms and other parts to undress her before sexually assaulting her and being threatened by one of them; a testimony that was endorsed by the Pulpí Local Police and that offered by the first person the woman encountered after the events.
Added to this is the medical report issued that same night where the injuries suffered by the woman are recognized, to which are added the forensic medical reports and the psychologists who examined the victim and who highlighted that the testimony of the complainant was “absolutely credible, presented symptoms derived from having been a victim of rape”.
On the other hand, the defense argued that the sexual relations had been consensual, although the accused refused to testify in the oral trial to give an account of their version. The lawyer Nabil El Meknassi, defense of one of the accused, has already announced that he will appeal the ruling before the TSJA.
The sentence also condemns each defendant for a minor crime of injuries to a two-month fine at a rate of six euros a day, since it requires them to jointly pay compensation of 60,000 euros to the victim, with whom they will not be able to communicate or approach. for 40 years. It also imposes 20 years of supervised release and disqualification from activities, trades or professions that involve contact with minors.
