Eight men ‘who gang-raped British teenager’ in Magaluf ‘were strangers who encouraged one another to take part in sex attack’
- It is claimed an 18-year-old girl was attacked by up to eight men on August 14
Eight men accused of ‘gang-raping’ an 18-year-old British woman in Magaluf were strangers who encouraged one another to take part in sex attack, according to Spanish police.
It comes a day after two suspects being hunted by police over the alleged incident were arrested in France.
Spanish authorities had issued a European Arrest Warrant for the pair after up to eight men were accused of attacking the girl at a hotel on the island of Majorca last week.
The girl fled a hotel room after believing she had been attacked by up to eight men at around 5am last Monday, August 14, telling police she had woken up surrounded by young people holding mobile phones.
Officers later identified three men by ringing the girl’s phone, which it was claimed had been stolen during the ordeal. A total of six suspects had been taken into custody prior to yesterday.
Spanish authorities have now revealed that the eight men did not know each other prior to the ‘gang-rape’.
A suspect previously arrested by police on suspicion of taking part in the alleged gang rape of a British tourist
Two men detained by police last week on suspicion of being involved in the incident in Magaluf
The spokesman said: ‘The Civil Guard has closed the investigation sparked by the alleged gang rape that took place in a hotel in Magaluf in the early hours of August 14.
‘Officers saw early on the complexity of the investigation, as the alleged aggressors didn’t form part of the same group of friends but encouraged by other participants, had allegedly joined the group action in sporadic acts, meaning no type of relationship existed between them,’ he said according to The Sun.
A number of men have since been taken into custody by police, with police in France making the latest arrests after Spanish cops discovered the men had flown to Germany before crossing the border en route to the French city of Strasbourg.
The pair arrested yesterday now face extradition to Majorca, while Civil Guard officers announced yesterday their probe to identify the men involved had now concluded.
Confirming the first six suspects had been held the day of the alleged sex attack and remanded in prison, the force said in a statement: ‘The probe continued to identify the two young men whose arrests were pending.
‘Once they had been identified, officers discovered they had taken a flight to Baden-Baden in Germany so they could head to their homes in the Strasbourg area.
‘The Civil Guard sought the assistance of the French authorities through the normal channels and issued European Arrest Warrants to avoid them evading justice.
‘On Sunday the French police confirmed they arrested one of them in the French locality of Scherwiller before subsequently confirming a second arrest at Basilea Mulhouse Freiburg Airport in France, when that suspect was trying to take a flight to Turkey to avoid detention.’
Earlier this week it was reported the first of the Magaluf gang-rape suspects was held after Spanish police got him to answer the ‘stolen’ mobile phone of the British teenager allegedly targeted.
Two of the men arrested by police on suspicion of the gang rape arriving at court in Palma on August 16
A man accused of being involved in the incident arrives at court in Palma flanked by two police officers
Officers are said to have dialled the girl’s phone number and one of the alleged French attackers answered her device.
The man who answered and two of his friends were then duped into heading to the hotel’s reception without realising that they were going to meet police and the girl.
The alleged victim pointed at the men – named as Anthony G, 20, Anthony A, 20, and Khalil A, 18 – and they were quickly arrested.
Two other French men Thomas E, 23, and Romain C, 26, were reportedly arrested later at the hotel along with the Swiss man Lucas H who is aged 20.
The arrests were made after the victim described the men to police and ‘various surveillance devices’ were placed on the hotel entrances.
All six men were held on suspicion of rape and remanded in custody on Tuesday at a court hearing on the island capital Palma.
Over the weekend it emerged the judge who refused the six suspects bail and remanded them in prison pending an ongoing criminal probe had concluded the Brit teen had suffered ‘really humiliating and degrading treatment’ and described the men’s claims sex was consensual as ‘completely preposterous.’
Mobile phone footage of the alleged sex attack, seized by police on the suspects’ phones and handed over to the investigating judge, is said to have shown the men had been ‘enjoying themselves and laughing.’
On Sunday Ultima Hora published more details of the judge’s remand ruling it appeared to have been given full or partial access to, saying the suspects had allegedly ‘deliberately taken advantage’ of their alleged victim’s drunkenness to persuade her to accompany them to a hotel room before ‘surrounding her’ and ‘carrying out numerous sexual practices’ with her despite her ‘obvious lack of awareness and willing to carry out those practices.’
The criminal investigation has now been passed on to Palma’s Court of Instruction Number Two, having been dealt with by a duty court in its initial stages.
The British teenager, who gave a statement to police as well as the investigating judge in court, is said to have flown back to the UK with a female friend who was on holiday with her.
Medical reports revealed that the girl had several bruises or grip marks on her right arm, suggesting she had been held down, and a small cut on her upper chest.
Police have already confirmed they found footage on the suspects’ mobile phones showing the alleged multiple rape that is now in the hands of the investigating judge and could form a ‘key part’ of the case.
The alleged gang rape is believed to have taken place at the BH Hotel in Magaluf on Monday, August 14
BH Mallorca Resort, the hotel where the alleged sex attack took place, has said it is cooperating fully with police and offered its support to the unnamed holidaymaker.
A spokesman said in a statement released last Thursday: ‘The BH Mallorca Resort deeply regrets what has happened and would like to manifest its firm and forceful repudiation of the alleged sexual attack that occurred in the early hours of Monday August 14 at the hotel.
‘The hotel also wants to demonstrate its solidarity with the alleged victim of this aggression.
‘We are co-operating fully with the Civil Guard and its investigators in everything they consider to be necessary.
‘This hotel ratifies through this statement its commitment to the condemnation of all types of sexual attacks that affect peoples’ dignity and physical integrity.
‘Behaviour that undermines those rights has no place in this establishment.’
The hotel said it would be making no further comment for the time being.
A security guard at the hotel reportedly came to the rescue of the 18-year-old Brit after finding her sobbing on the floor in the lobby.
He called police after finding her around 5am on Monday, recalling how he had just come in for his morning shift and describing the police response as very quick and efficient.
Investigators have already looked at CCTV images the hotel has provided and carried out an inspection of the room where the alleged gang rape took place.
The men held and remanded in prison have not yet been charged with any crime as is normal in Spain where formal charges are only laid shortly before trial.
At this stage they are ‘investigados’ in an ongoing criminal probe, which means they are under formal investigation.
It is not known if the British teenager has hired her own lawyer.
The four-star adults-only BH Mallorca Resort describes itself as the ‘best accommodation option in Magaluf’on its website.
It has its own beach club with over 100 VIP beds, a DJ booth and dance floor.
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