One of the suspects arriving at Palma's courthouse.

One of the suspects arriving at Palma's courthouse. | A. Sepulveda

Humphrey CarterJuan P. MartínezPalma14/11/2024 15:59
TW
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The eight members of what is known as the “French gang” face a total of 151 years in prison for raping a British tourist in a hotel in Magalluf on 14 August 2023. The sexual assault was recorded and subsequently shared on social media networks. The Public Prosecutor’s Office is also requesting that the young woman be compensated 100,000 euros for the moral damages and after-effects suffered as a result of the brutal sexual assault.

The trial for these events will soon take place in Palma. The young men have been held on remand in custody since the day after the events, when Calvia Guardia Civil arrested six of them. Shortly afterwards, it became known that two others had been given time to return to their country, but were also arrested.

The events, according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, took place around 7.30am on 14 August last year. The eight accused, seven French and one Swiss, went to room 108 of a well-known hotel in Magalluf. Two of them were staying there and arrived with an 18-year-old British woman, who was semi-conscious due to alcohol consumption. Subsequently, two other men entered the room.

The defendants, for approximately half an hour, undressed her and acted together without “the consent” of the British tourist. The prosecution describes how several of them had oral, vaginal and anal sex with the girl. It also claims that they groped her and recorded the different actions they carried out. The videos were shared via the Snapchat application.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office accuses the eight young suspects, either as perpetrators or as co-operators, of five crimes of continuous sexual assault with carnal access and sexual assault without carnal access, a crime against privacy and another of abuse.