Three granted bail in Malaga rape case

THREE of the five young men accused of raping a 20-year-old woman at the Feria last Sunday have been granted bail in Malaga. The two minors remain in custody at the present time.

The three men, all over the age of 18, went before a judge yesterday to establish custody terms. After interrogating witnesses and the accused, the prosecutor did not think it necessary to ask for the defendants to be remanded in custody pending trial.

The judge agreed that the three should be granted bail, although he has imposed a restraining order forbidding them to go near the alleged victim while the case proceeds. The men remain charged with rape and robbery, with the woman’s bag and mobile phone having been stolen during the incident.

A video of the alleged sexual assault filmed by one of the men under arrest has become the main piece of evidence available in the case. According to sources close to the case, there is no indication of force or violence in the footage, although the video clip only lasts for around a minute and does not capture the entire incident.

Furthermore, a witness statement given by a vendor working in the fairground has described seeing the young woman expressing intimacy in the company of two of the accused a couple of hours before the rape is said to have taken place. More witnesses are expected to come forward.

The defendants say that two of the group engaged in consensual sex with the woman, that they met her in the marquee while she was working, and that she remained in their company when her shift had ended, drinking shots of vodka with the men. Family members of the accused maintain that none of the youths have any injuries that would demonstrate signs of a struggle or force.

For her part, the alleged victim has maintained her version of the incident to the police and in front of the judge. According to her statement, the youths harassed her whilst she was working in the fair, touching her thighs as she passed them. Later, at around 7am, she was forced behind a fairground attraction by the men and subjected to a brutal sexual assault.

Officers from the Local Police found the woman crying on the ground in Calle Cuevas del Becerro at approximately 8am on Sunday morning behind the attractions of the fairground at the Real del Cortijo de Torres. She was subsequently taken to hospital and examined by a forensic doctor, and the five suspects were arrested at the scene.